Anson County Airport Is A Catalyst For Economic Growth

This May, Anson County Airport will mark 77 years in operation, making it one of the best-established aviation facilities in the state. Still, it’s a safe bet that the majority of county residents have never taken a flight from there, and many have never even visited the facility. Anson County Airport, or AFP as it is called by the Federal Aviation Administration, does not offer scheduled service from commercial carriers like Delta or American, so the traveling public tends to know more about Piedmont Triad or Charlotte Douglas than they do the airport in their own back yard. This lack of understanding about what Anson County Airport is and how it contributes to the local economy sometimes leads observers to question the investments the county makes in maintaining and upgrading the facility, such as the runway light replacement project last year or the runway expansion and terminal upgrade in 2006.

Air traffic is growing in large metropolitan areas and spilling over into the top-tier general aviation airports, including AFP. Thousands of people use the Anson County Airport every year. Company officials, vendors and employees from many of our largest employers fly to and from the facility on a regular basis, and representatives of numerous other companies arrive and depart from AFP when visiting local businesses. Visitors who use the airport are likely to buy aviation or jet fuel there, book a local Uber driver, stay in a hotel and eat at local restaurants. All of that generates a modest, but growing, economic impact in Anson County.

A larger contribution the airport makes to the local economy comes in the form of property taxes. The private companies who operate hangars and store their aircraft at the airport pay property taxes on both the physical facilities, such as buildings and equipment, and the aircraft based there. When one considers that the average value of even a small single-prop plane is greater than most peoples’ houses, it is clear that the 20-25 aircraft permanently housed there generate as much property tax revenue as a medium-size housing development, but with far less need for associated expenses such as schools, fire and police.

In addition to a growing center for private and business aviation, AFP offers more than 135 acres of adjacent county-owned industrial sites, some potentially with “through-the-fence” runway access. Many of the recent upgrades at the airport were prompted by feedback provided by companies’ decision-making processes, and will make AFP a strong candidate for future aviation-related projects. As the result of last year’s lighting project, for instance, the 5,400 foot main runway can now safely accommodate a wider variety of aircraft in more weather conditions. Imagine critical fabric samples getting from Wadesboro to UnderArmor HQ in Baltimore in just an hour by air, or instructors flying in from around the country for training at Quality Equipment and it is easy to see how the Anson County Airport will be a catalyst for economic development for all of the county for decades to come.