Celebrate Fayetteville: Exploring the Greater Fayetteville Region

hired Merje to also design its
new signs to coordinate with the
downtown effort while providing a
unique look for the airport.
“We are proud of these new signs
that provide upscale design and
ease for customers to be directed to
services,” Whited said.
While the airport’s convenience
is certainly a perk to flying
Fayetteville, ticket prices are the top
driver for business. Airline companies
who do business in Fayetteville
attempt to offer structured fares to
compete with larger North Carolina
airports. According to enplanement and
deplanement numbers since 2007, the structured
fares have been noticed by customers.
Enplanement and deplanement numbers
rose each year from 2007 to 2011, and numbers
remained strong in 2012. Total enplanement
and deplanement numbers in 2010 (514,345),
2011 (516,853) and 2012 (506,905) broke the
previous total numbers of 1987 (463,136).
Another important historical tidbit for
customers to know is that Fayetteville
Regional Airport is one of the safest airports
in the southeastern United States, having
completed nineteen years with “no deficiencies
noted,” from 1993 to 2012, on its annual
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified
airport safety inspection. This inspection
compares Federal Aviation Regulations Part 139
to the airport’s maintenance and inspection
record annually. It considers runway and
taxiway markings, lighting, directional signs,
pavement condition, fuel facilities, operational
procedures, airport firefighting equipment
and personnel training.
Fayetteville Regional Airport staff consistently
works hard to keep facilities updated. Three
small terminal upgrades were accomplished in
1999, 2003 and 2006. Improvements included
the installation of central boilers and chillers;
creation of a new meeting space for the
Airport Commission; replacement of ceilings
and light fixtures, customer seating and
wall coverings; updating of bathrooms; and
upgrading of floor coverings to terrazzo.
The Airport Commission was established in
1949, when the Fayetteville Municipal Airport
was established by the City Council, to develop,
maintain and expand an airport facility.
The year 2013 brought a pre-design effort
to evaluate current terminal facilities and
consider terminal needs in the future, with
plans for $20 million of terminal construction
upgrades in 2015 or 2016.
Since 2008, the airport has concentrated its
federal grant dollars on runway and taxiway
pavement rehabilitation and lighting upgrades.
Within the next three years, all airport runways
and taxiways will be rehabilitated.
For more information about Fayetteville
Regional Airport or to purchase tickets, visit
www.flyfay.com on the Internet.
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