Legislature Removes Airport from City-County Control

Staff Reports

Legislation changing the governance structure of Asheville Regional Airport was passed by the North Carolina General Assembly in the last days of the two-year legislative session. On June 28, the legislature changed the current structure of the Asheville Regional Airport Authority from a joint governmental agency comprised primarily of Asheville City and Buncombe County appointees to an independent, state-sanctioned governing body. The new, independent airport authority went into effect three days later, on July 1.

The airport at its current location began in 1958 when the City of Asheville passed a $1.2 million bond referendum, primarily to purchase land for new commercial airport. The expected return on the investment was improvements to the long-term economic impact to the region through the attraction of new businesses, support of tourism, and new jobs that would develop in conjunction with that growth.

Twenty-one years later, in 1979, the Asheville Regional Airport Authority was established as a joint governmental agency by the City of Asheville and Buncombe County for the purpose of maintaining, operating, regulating and improving the Asheville Regional Airport. During the next two decades, Buncombe County voters passed several referendums that provided a total of $8 million for expansion and improvements to the airport’s runways, buildings, and infrastructure.

In addition, state and federal grants have long been tapped to improve the airport. Today, Asheville Regional Airport serves approximately 750,000 commercial passengers each year, the most by far in its 50-year history.

The airport’s Executive Director, Lew Bleiweis, has expressed satisfaction with the legislation, seeing it as a natural next step in the growth of the region’s airport structure. “The airport industry is a cornerstone of the nation’s travel infrastructure, and we have experienced significant change in the past few decades. Independent airport authorities are emerging more and more, due in large part to operational efficiencies that can be realized.”

According to Bleiweis, the new independent airport authority structure at AVL will allow for greater flexibility in property acquisition and development—key to an airport’s continued growth and success. Also, grant applications, development of long-term leases, and non-aviation related business development will be more efficiently implemented without oversight by elected officials.

Many residents of Asheville and Buncombe County, including County Commission Chairman David Gantt, have expressed concern at the legislature’s taking such action without compensating the City or County.