CARTHAGE, North Carolina — Moore County Airport (KSOP) is in the midst of upgrading it facilities in preparation for the upcoming U.S. Open Golf Championship, slated for June 13-16, 2024, at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club.
With a record number of general aviation flights anticipated to arrive and depart in June, the members of the Airport Authority and senior management report they have been “working diligently” to upgrade the airport facilities. They note they expect about 2,000 flights and more than 5,000 passengers during the week of the championship.
Recent capital improvements include the addition of several new hangars, the resurfacing and painting of the main runway and taxiways, upgrading of all runway and airport apron lighting to state-of-the-art LED lights, and needed renovations and facade updates on the existing terminal building.
Newly-appointed Airport Director Rick Cloutier hit the ground running in the fourth quarter of 2023 to oversee the completion of the projects, airport officials said.
“This is an exciting time in Moore County with everything that is going on, including the post-pandemic boost in tourism and the establishment of a new base for the United States Golf Association (USGA) in Pinehurst, which will bring multiple golf championships to our region,” said Cloutier, who has more than 18 years of experience managing airports. “The airport has seen a noticeable increase in traffic, and it is imperative that we stay ahead of the curve and provide the best experience and services at the airport for the arriving and departing passengers, along with over 100 base customers.”
In addition to ramping up the needed flight support staff and customer service personnel for the U.S. Open, the airport has contracted to have a Mobile Air Traffic Control System and controllers at the airport to maintain safe and efficient air traffic control during the week of the Open, officials said.
“Maintaining a safe environment at the airport is our number one priority,” he said. “With frequent arrivals and departures, ground movement and positioning of aircraft for parking, shuttling passengers to and from the terminal, and servicing the aircraft with fuel, we need to make sure our team and any volunteers are focused on these priorities.”
In 2014, the airport introduced a “Community Gateway” program, which includes shuttles to and from the airport terminal, hospitality, including food and beverage options, beer and wine sampling, and a community concierge area that will provide personal “meet and greets” and general information for pilots and passengers.
The terminal will have “a fresh and inviting atmosphere similar to a clubhouse, and the aircraft pilots will have their own dedicated hospitality area in the terminal,” officials noted.
With the short-term focus on prepping the airport for this year’s Open, the real excitement will begin following the Championship as the airport begins to plan for the future. A recent grant of $5 million provided by the NCDOT Division of Aviation will allow the airport to enhance the airport terminal with structural updates and expand the facilities.
The grant request was submitted by Senator Tom McInnis, a Moore County Republican who heads up the State Transportation Committee.
“The Moore County Airport is an important component of infrastructure for economic development for the region,” said McInnis. “The economic impact for the airport is more than $107 million in 2023, which places the Moore County Airport in the top 15 of general aviation airports in North Carolina.”
KSOP is one of the only airports in North Carolina that does not receive county funding, which makes grant funding from the FAA and North Carolina government support “extremely important” for its future, airport officials said. Fuel sales and landing fees are “vital sources of revenue” for the airport, they added.
Additional planned capital improvement includes the replacement of the aged tarmac apron with a new concrete surface, additional hangars and storage space, as well as preparing for electric aircraft, which will be a major initiative at the airport before the next U.S. Open in Moore County in 2029.
“Aircraft technology is moving at an amazing pace,” said Cloutier. “Our Airport Authority is focused on making sure we are prepared for the future as we develop our planning. The Moore County Airport and the surrounding community is ready to welcome the world to our runways and fairways.”
Moore County Airport was established in 1929 when the Tufts family, founders and operators of the Pinehurst Resort, opened a dirt runway and named it “Knollwood Airport.” The airport was acquired by Moore County in 1935 and was later leased to the U.S. Army Air Corps until 1945, when it transitioned from a military airfield to a commercial airfield. The Pinehurst-Southern Pines Airport, with Piedmont Airlines as the primary commercial carrier, operated commercial service until the late 1960s. The airport was renamed the Moore County Airport in 1980, and commercial air service returned in 1991 with CCAir, operating as USAir Express providing round trip service to Charlotte, North Carolina. Passenger traffic peaked in 1998 with over 50,000 passengers arriving and departing from Moore County. Commercial service was discontinued following Sept. 11, 2001.
Today, the airport, which is operated and maintained by the Moore County Airport Authority, is home to two flight schools, an aircraft maintenance facility, and eight private aeronautical businesses. The airport is also home to the only full-motion three-axis general aviation flight simulators in North Carolina, airport officials said.
For more information: MooreCountyAirport.com
My local major government GA airport. These PGA events come every decade and are a real pain for residents who did not move here to chase white plastic balls around manicured grass. We actually work for a living. KSOP still does not have a self-service fuel station, really embarrassing as the only government GA airport in a wide region without this. They are also pushing for a new, gold-plated terminal building despite have spent a fortune on the existing one in their two recent and failed attempts to get commercial service. Cheap local airport tax services (to CLT and RDU) are far superior to those expensive flights, which ended soon after the government subsidies ran out. As far as those bogus economic impact studies are concerned, just make up any number and it will be just as valid. KSOP once had one of the nicest grass runways around, also long gone. Like so many GA airports these days, the focus is on selling jet fuel and increasing hangar rent, driving away sport aviation. Fortunately, we have nearby the great – and privately owned – Gilliam-McConnell airport (BQ1), home to the PiknPig.
I wonder why, in this comm, You didn’t write about the 300T and plus debt of the national debt, once KSOP is a grant funded support only by the state (NC) and FAA.