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International Airport Would Add Many Jobs to Pee Dee Area
| The Florence airport
employs 33 people, the Myrtle Beach airport employs 100, and the airport in Columbia has 115 employees. The Charlotte Douglas International Airport,
however, employs an astonishing total of 13,500 airport, airline and tenant employees.
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Strengths of an Airport
| “The airport and its various vendors create a large number of jobs for Charlotte.
The airport is also a significant decision factor for attracting businesses to our
city and region, which is why it is ranked as the third overall reason companies
come to Charlotte and bring employment opportunities.”
—
Tony Crumbley,
Vice President of Research at the Charlotte,
North Carolina, Chamber of Commerce
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The building and completion of an international
airport would provide work for area citizens
at the airport’s flight operations, ground
crews, maintenance department, individual
airlines, kiosks and shops. It would also provide
a multitude of employment opportunities
at nearby hotels, car-rental centers, transportation
services and entertainment venues.
Hundreds of jobs will also be created during
the construction phase.
In planning for industrial development in the
area, Norwood researched the area airports and
the jobs they have created in their respective locations.
He found that by far, the international airport
in Charlotte, North Carolina, employs the
most workers.
Though the Mecklenburg County airport itself
employs more than 13,000 employees, more than
five times that amount of the region’s workers
have jobs that are directly or indirectly related to
the Charlotte Douglas International Airport,
according to a study conducted in 1997 by the
Airport Commission in North Carolina.
“The 71,392 employees related to the airport
earn $1.9 billion annually in wages,” Crumbley
said. “The airport itself has a $4 billion annual
impact on this community, and I’m sure it has an
even greater financial impact than that number
conveys. The airport’s economic success, of
course, affects Charlotte positively.”
Building the Pee Dee
“I think Tim Norwood’s proposal is a good one,” stated
Former Marion
County Council member
Mike Sattane who sees
the potential in creating
an international airport
in Senate District 30.
“In looking to build
an international airport
in a place where the
land would be the least
expensive, in an area such as Marion or somewhere
near Marion, would be profitable, convenient
and carry with it long-term employment
benefits,” Sattane said.
“The nearest international airport we have now
is in Charlotte, so an international airport in
Marion is an opportunity for the Pee Dee to draw
quite a crowd from all around the state, providing
us with tourism and, more importantly, jobs,” he
continued.
Norwood, a Florence business executive,
sees what an international airport can do for the
Pee Dee and looks to capitalize upon the opportunities.
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“An international airport would attract and support
the travel, tourism and recreation industries
in South Carolina and, particularly, in the Pee
Dee,” Norwood said. “This project will take federal,
state, regional and local funds, but it is an
investment that will open up the heart of the Pee
Dee region for jobs and
development.” Norwood continued.
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