Overview
South Carolina has a well-developed system of publicly owned commercial service and general aviation airports. Airports are essential to the state’s transportation infrastructure and to many sectors of its diversified economy. To help guide the future development of South Carolina’s airport system and to measure how that system contributes to the state’s economy, the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission (SCAC) undertook comprehensive analyses to update its Statewide Aviation System Plan and Economic Impact Study. Starting in the fall of 2016, SCAC, in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and public airports in South Carolina, undertook steps to estimate the annual economic impact for all study airports and to identify how each airport should be developed to meet state objectives.
This summary focuses on annual economic impacts associated with the state’s public airport system. The summary also documents how aviation demand in South Carolina is expected to grow and how airports will need to be improved to meet established objectives for airport development and maintenance.