Coastal Carolina Regional Airport, one of North Carolina’s ten publicly-owned commercial service airports, has reported significant economic impact for the Eastern North Carolina economy, according to a recent study released by the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation.
In 2019 EWN’s impact accounted for 2,710 jobs and $99,710,000 in personal income, $16,565,000 in state and local taxes and $456,750,000 in economic output for the region.
EWN also provides air freight services in support of the state’s economy. Air freight helps meet the global demand for the rapid movement of goods like overnight packages and time-sensitive medical items. EWN ranked 4th in the state, with more than 1,800 tons of air cargo.
“Any thriving economy must be diverse,” said Andrew Shorter, Director of the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport Authority. “And with an increasingly global economy, aviation’s role in post-pandemic recovery is more important than ever.”
The ability to have a local impact through a regional airport is critical to the needs of our area, Shorter said. “We are simply in the business of connecting people and commerce from our region to the rest of the world and the numbers indicate that we do that very well!”
The January 2021 report also cites military aviation’s contributions to the state’s public airports. Each year, approximately 200,000 military operations occur at the state’s 72 public airports, providing increased local training and support opportunities for military pilots and crew while providing revenue and jobs for the local community.
NCDOT creates the report every two years to help guide future aviation infrastructure and provide a tool for recruiting aviation and aerospace industry companies and investment.
View the full report, including the breakdown of each individual airport’s contributions, at www.ncdot.gov/aviation.
