Elizabeth City State University’s aviation science program has grown so much at the airport that ECSU needs its own seat on the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Airport Authority, says Scott Hinton.
“Their presence has grown so significantly out there that we think they need a permanent seat at the table,” said Hinton, who is the airport’s director.
Hinton provided Pasquotank County commissioners an update on activities at the airport at the board’s meeting on Monday.
The airport authority is comprised of seven members, three of whom are appointed by city officials and three who are appointed by county officials. A seventh member is appointed jointly by city and county officials. Hinton said he would need to seek authorization from the state Legislature to expand the authority’s membership to give ECSU a permanent seat on the board.
ECSU has its own hangar at the airport, where it also maintains a fleet of 15 single-engine aircraft used to teach students how to fly. The aviation science program is the number one sought four-year degree at ECSU and is the only four-year degree of its kind in North Carolina.
The airport, which is part of the U.S. Coast Guard base, occupies about 3,000 acres, Hinton said. The aviation park, which is located on the opposite side of Consolidated Road from the airport, takes up another 114 acres.
Three people, including Hinton, complete the airport’s fulltime staff, while several part-time workers are ECSU aviation students. The students are paid with funding through an internship program sponsored by the N.C. State Employees Credit Union.
The Elizabeth City Regional Airport generated $525 million in economic output in 2023, said Hinton, who was citing information from last year’s report, “The State of Aviation in North Carolina.”
The report includes the U.S. Coast Guard because the airfield is used by both Coast Guard aircraft and planes flying in and out of the regional airport, Hinton said. The Coast Guard also owns and operates the airfield, which the airport is allowed to use through a joint-use agreement. The long-standing agreement is scheduled to expire next year, but Hinton said he sees no problems with the agreement getting renewed.
“I don’t see any problems there,” he said. “We’re in as good of a position with as good as a relationship with the Coast Guard I think that we’ve ever had. They truly see us as a partner and not a tenant. We do what we can to support their operations.”
The report on the state’s 72 publicly-owned airports was compiled by the Division of Aviation of the N.C. Department of Transportation. Statewide, the aviation industry had a $72 billion impact in 2023.
The Elizabeth City airport is self-sufficient and does not need to rely on the city and county for funding, Hinton said.
“We operate essentially as an enterprise fund, not exactly the same, but pretty similar,” he said. “We make our money selling fuel, rents on the airport and so on. We cover all of our expenses.”
The airport makes a large percentage of its revenue from providing fuel for U.S. military and other government aircraft, and for ECSU aircraft. According to Hinton, the airport does receive some federal and state taxpayer subsidies.
Hinton, who is also director of the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Economic Development Commission, said he is working to recruit aviation companies that support the Coast Guard to the airpark. Construction of a new and larger airport terminal is underway in the southwest corner of the airfield at Consolidated and Weeksville roads.
Hinton said the plan is to turn over the airport’s existing terminal to ECSU’s aviation science program once the new terminal opens. To help meet a growing demand for aviation hangar space, the director said, the airport is building additional hangars and adding a charging station for electric aircraft.
“A lot of good things happening at the airport right now,” Hinton said. “We’re real happy at where we are and our future looks bright.”
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