Reopen UNC’s small airport to expand pilot training and supply operations
The University of North Carolina should reconsider the closure of Horace Williams Airport.
After losses during the pandemic, the aviation industry is running on fumes and the revitalization of airports like Horace Williams would help bring North Carolina’s recovery across the finish line. Reopening the airport is the most cost-effective way for North Carolina to be competitive while at the same time providing invaluable benefits to both the flying and non-flying public.
We don’t need to fly blind into another conversation about the airport. The argument for closure was not without merit.
After nearly two decades of disputes between pilots and UNC, It was promised that the land could be redevelopment as more profitable real estate. Closing the airport was supposed to flood dollars into the economy and reduce expenses for UNC.
But three years after closure with no redevelopment, UNC’s control of the airport property has not produced those benefits. Meanwhile, the current shortage of workers in the aviation industry has created a greater need for small airports where young pilots can gain their wings. The industry is expecting a shortage of nearly 12,000 pilots as soon as 2023.
This shortage doesn’t just mean canceled flights, it means canceled benefits for North Carolina. Aviation-related industries in North Carolina contribute $61 billion dollars to the state’s economy, providing 373,000 workers $15 billion in income to take home to their families.
The shortage of pilots is caused by the inaccessibility of flight training. Closing of urban airports like Horace Williams adds to the problem and further limits access to careers in aviation. Only 7% of pilots are women, and less than 2% are black. This lack of diversity in such a crucial industry should be treated as a critical loss of opportunity.
Luckily, UNC can solve this problem.
Horace Williams has a history of flight training. The airport trained more than 18,000 pilots who went on to fight in World War II.
The airport’s legacy of flight training includes providing opportunities for minorities. Warren Wheeler, who was the first African American to own a commercial air carrier, started his flight school and airline at the airport in 1962. Wheeler was able to fly through racial barriers in the airline industry because of the airport and its proximity to UNC.
UNC alumni have recently launched an effort to reopen the airport on change.org and have formed an organization to begin a lobbying effort. It would be wrong for UNC to turn away the opportunity to expand and diversify flight training when there is this amount of local support for reopening the airport.
Airports are important infrastructure. Pilots from all over the country flew to North Carolina in aircraft packed with humanitarian supplies to address the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Florence. During the pandemic, small airports like Horace Williams played a key role in flying in PPE, vaccines, and patients to hospitals. When disasters occur, the sound of aircraft engines can be the sound of hope.
Virginia Tech uses its airport to provide opportunities for its students. UNC should do the same. Reopening the airport would bolster training for North Carolina’s airline industry and provide the community with the benefit of local air services.