Republic Airport stars in 'Pan Am' episode

A rented Boeing from Florida flew into Republic Airport late Tuesday to serve as a prop.

A film crew of 100 and the entire principal cast of the ABC series "Pan Am" -- including Christina Ricci -- followed.

They came to shoot what a production company publicist promised would be "an action-packed episode."

The plot: "The Pan Am jetliner has to make an emergency landing in a Caribbean nation and the crew tries to save a man's life in the midst of a government takeover by rebel forces," she wrote in an email.

Ricci and others were scheduled to shoot last night and finish Friday.

Republic -- chosen because it's "production-friendly and a great location that matched the needs in the script," the publicist wrote -- earned $15,000 for its star turn, said airport manager Mike Geiger. The money will support airport maintenance.

Sheltair Aviation, the company that provides much of the airport's fueling and tie-down services, earned an undisclosed amount for what manager Leonel Rivera described as "logistics, positioning the aircraft for shooting, security work and ground support."

Republic's runways and grounds have hosted location shooting before. A "Boardwalk Empire" episode showing Al Capone driving down a highway was shot on a runway. Scenes for "Ugly Betty," "Royal Pains," "The Colbert Report" and the movie "Salt" also were shot there.

The shoots "help the community," Geiger said. "The crews have to put people up in hotels, and there's food, generators, all kinds of stuff -- they're spending money in the community."

Two years ago, Republic took in $80,000 in shooting fees, he said. But "Pan Am" was the first shoot of 2011.