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\u201cDespite the challenges of 2020, our network of 72 publicly\nowned airports, and the aviation and aerospace assets that rely on them, still\nhelp move our economy forward by creating jobs, supporting business growth and\nconnecting people and companies to markets around the globe,\u201d said Bobby\nWalston, director of NCDOT\u2019s Division of Aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant impacts to the\nairports. Commercial airline travel declined, for example, while private air\ncharters and air freight operations reached record highs. While this report\ndoes not include the impacts of the pandemic, the 2019 impact data demonstrates\naviation\u2019s economic contribution to the state and local communities and\nprovides a benchmark for tracking recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Carolina\u2019s public airport system boasts 10 commercial\nservice and 62 general aviation airports that connect local businesses and\ncommunities to global markets, house and refuel private aircraft, support\nmilitary and agricultural aviation and statewide emergency response, and\nprovide aviation services such as aerial photography and pilot training. The\ncommercial service airports also offer regularly scheduled passenger service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All airports generate significant economic return for their\ncommunities and the state. For instance, North Carolina\u2019s public airports lease\nspace to more than 3,300 private aircraft that generate more than $11.6 million\nin property tax revenues for their communities each year. The owner of a $23\nmillion aircraft based at a North Carolina airport pays local property taxes\nequivalent to those paid by owners of 115 homes valued at $200,000 each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report contains data compiled and analyzed for NCDOT by\nNorth Carolina State University\u2019s Institute for Transportation Research and\nEducation. Impacts are calculated based on factors such as jobs supported by\nthe airports and the businesses that rely on them, business and leisure\ntravelers, and airport capital projects and operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n