Fayetteville Regional Airport “is the window through which nearly 500,000 people a year view our community,” said Robert Van Geons, president and CEO of the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation. Up & Coming Weekly interviewed him about the airport’s importance to greater Fayetteville’s economy. “Our Airport has a growth-oriented vision for Fayetteville and our region,” he added.

Van Geons said residents are one connection away from over 160 national and international destinations, yards away from dozens of technology-driven companies and surrounded by one of the best marketing assets in our community’s arsenal.

Fayetteville Regional Airport is just that, a small airport with a dozen flights a day, 40% of whose customers are military members and their families. Bradley Whited has been the airport director for 20 years. He spent the last 10 years working to secure federal funds to upgrade the facility. His hard work paid off with $47 million in Federal Aviation Administration grants being allocated for renovations and expansion, “the objective being to improve the customer experience,” he said.

The airport is “a powerful economic engine that we are aggressively working to grow,” Van Geons said.

The airport staff is attempting to attract new flights. American Airlines and Delta currently serve the airport. Phase one of the development was a $20 million effort to elevate and expand the original concourse A. It was built at ground level 50 years ago. Passengers had to board planes in the open air. The new concourse A is now accessible on the same level as concourse B. A large circular atrium connects them. Both concourses have modern, new jet bridges.

Phase two of the renovation will include completing the new restaurant. Escalators will be moved to the front of the building, so customers arriving at the airport can check-in at the airline ticket counters and then go upstairs. Baggage carousels will be upgraded, and a full-length canopy will stretch across the exterior roofline. The third-floor mezzanine will be eliminated, and administration offices will be moved to the ground level. Restrooms are being renovated throughout, and a fire control sprinkler system will be installed.

Whited says construction should be completed in two years — a year-and-a-half after Whited retires. He said he will move to the Charlotte area where he has family. He hopes he’ll receive an invitation to the ribbon-cutting when the improvements are finished.