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Regional airport traffic taking off
By Kathleen Dayton
Staff Writer
Like a lot of things in Mount Pleasant, the town’s airport is experiencing growing pains and plans are in the works to nearly double the capacity of its terminal by the end of the year.
“The goal is to modernize the facility and make it look like an appropriate gateway to the Mount Pleasant area,” said David Jennings, chairman of the Charleston County Aviation Authority.
The $600,000 expansion is in the design phase and will be an addition to the existing terminal, plus a new airport layout plan, Jennings said.
“We’ll expand the footprint, we’ll add amenities that aren’t currently available and you won’t be able to tell by looking at the new building that part of the old building is incorporated,” he said. “We’ll spruce it up and give it a new look.”
Added amenities at the new 2,400-square-foot terminal include a pilots’ lounge with Internet access, a conference room and additional office space.
Mount Pleasant Regional Airport, formerly known as East Cooper Airport, opened in 1986 as not much more than a grassy field with a couple of aircraft in a mostly undeveloped area on the fringe of town. Today the area is home to residential developments such as Dunes West and Charleston National Country Club, the new Wando High School and Carolina Park, a future smart-growth community where Roper St. Francis Healthcare plans an 85-bed hospital.
While the town and the entire region have grown, so has the popularity of general aviation, with an increasing number of businessmen and families using private aircraft for business as well as leisure travel. Sales and shipments of general aviation aircraft hit an all-time high in 2006, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association recently reported.
“Worldwide economic growth, a strong export market and increased use of general aviation for both business and personal use all played a part in this outstanding year for general aviation,” said John J. Grisik, chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based association.
GAMA reported 2006 shipments of general aviation aircraft were up 12.9% from 2005, with a 24.1% increase in sales to $18.8 billion in the same period.
Jennings said he has noticed the growing popularity of general aviation in the Lowcountry.
“Our traffic is increasing both at Mount Pleasant and at Charleston Executive Airport,” Jennings said. “Five years ago, I would not have thought that.”
Charleston Executive Airport on Johns Island is in the permitting process for a $1.3 million terminal that would replace the existing facility currently serving between 400 and 700 aircraft monthly.
The two airports have growth in common, although they serve different markets, Jennings said.
“Charleston Executive is getting a significant amount of jet traffic, and we attribute that to tourism, especially the opening of The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island,” he said. “The Sanctuary has become a favorite gathering place for corporate executives.”
Mount Pleasant Regional Airport serves more leisure travelers, Jennings said, with a mix of light corporate traffic.
“I know folks fly into Mount Pleasant Regional if they are vacationing on the Isle of Palms,” he said. “There is a significant level of folks who own airplanes and fly them out of the Mount Pleasant region, plus people who are traveling and just looking for a place to stop or are coming to Mount Pleasant to look at a business opportunity.”
Jim Chase manages Mount Pleasant Regional Airport for Corporate Wings, the company under contract with the Charleston County Aviation Authority to operate the airport.
Chase is seeing an increase in larger passenger planes at the airport, which is home to two flight schools as well as a helicopter charter service, he said.
“We’ve got all the pilots coming in, and we have one little main lobby with a couch and TV,” Chase said. “It’s getting to the point where, when you get 10 or more people in there, you really can’t function.”
Fuel consumption has almost doubled in the past two years, he said, and 28 people are on a waiting list for hangars. Only two hangars have been vacated in the past two years, he said.
“Once they get the hangar, they don’t really want to give it up,” Chase said.
Kathleen Dayton is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her at kdayton@charlestonbusiness.com.
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