By Pat Corso, Special to The Pilot
Nearly 20 years ago, Moore County had commercial air service. It didn’t last.
That history matters. It’s fair for longtime residents to ask why this effort would be different.
The answer is simple: Moore County today is not Moore County in 2007.
Over the past two decades, our population has grown by more than 30 percent. The broader Sandhills region has expanded as well. We’ve added health care capacity, new employers, remote workers, retirees and entrepreneurs who divide their time between here and other parts of the country. Our national visibility has grown. Our economy is larger and more diversified than it was a generation ago.
Demand for air travel has grown with it.
According to an independent study by Voltaire Aviation Consulting, approximately 1,275 Moore County residents fly out of another airport every single day. Every day. That’s the equivalent of multiple full aircraft leaving our community — by car — for Raleigh, Charlotte or beyond.
The demand already exists. We are simply exporting it.
And residents recognize that. A recent survey showed 79 percent support for pursuing commercial air service — a clear sign that people understand the difference between improving access and unchecked growth.