In front of the glass barrier of the airport security checkpoint at the Fayetteville Regional Airport in early September, Mayor Mitch Colvin and Tom Perez, director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and a senior advisor to the president, stood side by side.
The comings and goings of passengers flitted in the background. Occasionally, Colvin and Perez’s words were muffled behind the cacophony of airport traffic. But their message was clear. The federal government is interested in what’s going on in Fayetteville, and eager to invest in the local economy and infrastructure here.
“I’ve been in local government, and I know the economic development world,” Perez said to the small group of local government officials, economic development leaders and reporters gathered at the Sept. 5 briefing. “Look around Fayetteville — this is a happening place. This is a town on the rise.”
Perez was in Fayetteville to highlight recent federal investments in Fayetteville, including a $5 million investment from the Federal Aviation Administration awarded in August, which the airport will use to construct a new international arrivals facility. The federal funds will be supplemented by $2.3 million from the N.C. Department of Transportation for the construction of the new terminal.
“We will soon be known as the Fayetteville International Airport,” Colvin said, “which is a great thing.”
The international arrivals facility will initially serve military aircraft, with the goal of eventually being used for commercial flights, military flight operations and regular international military travel, according to the city. N.C. House Rep. David Rouzer (R-District 7), who supported the FAA grant, said it will “pave the way for international commercial travel to support our military families and the local economy.”
These grants add to a long list of federal and state investments in Fayetteville’s public airport. In total, the airport has undergone about $60 million worth of improvements as part of the multi-phase airport expansion and renovation project, which kicked off in November 2017. The last phase of the project is currently underway, and is expected to be completed this fall, according to the city.
The FAA has supported Fayetteville’s massive renovation and expansion project of the airport, funding its first phase and contributing millions more for the following phases. After United Airlines pulled its Fayetteville to D.C. flight in 2018, city leaders increased efforts to revitalize the airport, according to legislative documents.
“We are standing in some of the federal investment, nearly $60 million to bring you this wonderful airport,” Colvin said.
The federal government has invested tens of millions in the Fayetteville Regional Airport since the latest round of renovations took place, including millions of dollars awarded as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan Act.
Economic impact of airport
Airports are economic engines for local economies, providing jobs and a space for commerce, according to the Airports Council International-North America. Recent studies show airports can support regional economic activity by providing small local businesses with national and international exchange routes.
Perez expects to see growth in Fayetteville’s economy as a result of the large investment the city is putting into its airport.
“Thriving communities have thriving airports, and we’re proud to be part of this $60 million investment,” he said. “When businesses are looking where to go, they’re looking at airports, and they’re looking not only at what the airport looks like now … but they’re trying to do what Wayne Gretzky talks about. You skate to where the puck’s going, not where the puck is, and you are moving in that direction.
“You understand that Fayetteville has become a regional economic center of North Carolina. We want people flying directly into Fayetteville, and that’s why we were proud to make sure that we were a partner in these efforts, because these efforts are going to create jobs for residents.”
A 2023 report from the N.C. Department of Transportation found that the Fayetteville Regional Airport has a local economic impact of $813 million, supporting 3,685 jobs and generating $38.6 million in local and state taxes. The NCDOT grant for the international terminal was awarded based on the airport’s $813 economic impact, according to the City of Fayetteville.
Robert Van Geons, the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation, expressed enthusiasm for the airport, noting that expanded flights could be used by the new titanium factory for freight transportation.
“About two months ago, we announced a U.S. titanium plant coming here to Fayetteville,” Van Geons said during Perez’s visit. “Hopefully, within a few years, some of that material will be in the very planes that are flying in and out of this airport.”
Airline attraction
Though the Fayetteville Regional Airport only offers flights to Atlanta and Charlotte, its use among commercial airlines has increased, with Delta adding a fourth daily flight to Atlanta starting next month, increasing the airport’s total daily flights to 22.
According to data for the first quarter of 2024 from the U.S. Department of Transportation, FAY ranked at 188 for number of passengers, out of 429 airports. Domestic fare for FAY cost an average of $506 for passengers, according to the U.S. DOT data. In comparison, flights out of the Wilmington International Airport cost an average of about $518, while flights out of the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro cost about $477. The national average for domestic fares in the first quarter of 2024 was about $388.
Perez said that flights will become more affordable at the Fayetteville airport, as competition between airlines increases and nonstop flights to more locations become available.
“I grew up in Buffalo, and one of the things that really brought down the cost of travel was when a lot of the low-cost carriers came in and put some downward pressure on some of the legacy carriers,” Perez said. “And if I were one of those emerging carriers, I’d be looking at Fayetteville because I’m confident that the overhead costs of settling here are very competitive with Charlotte Douglas and other places.”
Colvin said the federal government’s investments in infrastructure in Fayetteville, such as funding for broadband and renewable energy, will bring widespread benefits to the city.
“We know infrastructure leads the way to everything,” Colvin said.
Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608. This story was made possible by donations from readers like you to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
