Asheville Airport Makes Travel a Breeze
Published Mar 23, 2009
For The Health Adventure, Asheville Regional Airport is a vital connection.
The longtime Asheville institution, a health and science museum, is making a major investment in its future, expanding from a 20,000-square-foot downtown facility to a 10-acre campus along the Reed Creek Greenway.
Such a major endeavor takes a lot of planning. And The Health Adventure has been abuzz with consultants flying in and staff people flying out as the project take shape, says Paige Johnson, president and CEO of the nonprofit organization.
“Having an airport that is as nice and convenient as Asheville’s is a huge plus for us,” she says.
The airport will only become more important to Johnson’s group after the planned 2010 opening of the new site, which will be named the Momentum Science & Health Adventure Park. The museum is aiming for tourists who fly from far and wide to visit the Biltmore Estate and Asheville’s other attractions.
Of course, the museum isn’t the only one benefiting from the convenience of the airport, located just nine miles south of the city in Fletcher.
Asheville Regional saw nearly 82,000 commercial and general aviation take offs and landings in 2007 and more than 550,000 passengers, says Patti Michel, airport marketing director.
The airport hosts four carriers – Continental, Delta, Northwest and US Airways – offering direct flights to seven destinations: Detroit, Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Houston and Newark.
The airport is undergoing $17 million in renovations in 2009, including the addition of a second baggage carousel.
The airport, which opened in 1961, also has a vibrant general aviation community of smaller commercial and private planes, Michel says.
The airport is also an active sponsor of community organizations. In 2006 and 2007, Asheville Regional hosted HonorAir, which organized six flights to send local war veterans to visit war monuments in Washington, DC.
Story by Sam Scott
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