Lancaster County got a new $7.2 million airport terminal, but Brian Fulk got something invaluable. The county economic development director got a better answer to one of the biggest questions he gets from corporate executives.
“One of the first things I hear when people are asking about the county is, is there an airport nearby?” Fulk said. “And for an executive to be able to be in Detroit or be in London or Germany and be able to fly directly to an airport is great. This just adds to that.”
The new terminal will replace the original and only one, built more than 50 years ago.
About 100 local officials, dignitaries, pilots and business leaders clustered atop a Lancaster airfield on Thursday morning to celebrate the new terminal at the Lancaster County Airport-McWhirter Field.
County officials are still deciding how they’ll use the old terminal building.
As a small regional airport, McWhirter Field doesn’t handle large commercial flights. So, many Lancaster County residents are unlikely to use it.
The smaller private planes that do use it, though, often bring business leaders who make decisions that shape the region. Whether to put a headquarters in the county, stay here or invest in the region — McWhirter Field can be a key variable in those choices.
“This airport has been more than just a runway or a terminal,” said Lancaster County Council Chairman Brian Carnes. “It is part of the foundation of Lancaster County’s future.”
McWhirter Field grows Lancaster County business
The Medical University of South Carolina uses the Lancaster County airport for its medical evacuation helicopter, in addition to corporate flight needs. Longtime local employer Nutramax Laboratories uses it for business. Executives for both, along with major employers like Haile Gold Mine, turned out Thursday morning.
The Kraft Group founder and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is part of the New-Indy Catawba Mill ownership group in nearby York County, is somewhat of a regular at McWhirter Field, said Airport Director Paul Moses.
“We get a lot of corporate traffic in here now,” Moses said.
The Lancaster airport can accommodate planes that include some of the largest Gulfstream models, or a range of private jets and personal aircraft. Nearly 4,600 people arrived on flights to the airport in 2018, according to a South Carolina Aeronautics Commission economic impact study. Annual flight data from the commission now shows more than 9,000 flights.
Of that number, 5,000 flights take off from and return to the airport. Flight lessons or training fall into that category.
More than 3,400 flights are non-commercial, non-military flights to or from another airport. Many of those flights are for private business travel.
More than 40 aircraft at McWhirter Field create a $4.5 million annual economic impact through on-site operations, visitor spending and aviation-related business, said South Carolina Aeronautics Commission Executive Director Gary Siegfried.
It brings in more than $200,000 in annual state and local taxes.
Growth of Lancaster County airport
Lancaster County had a dirt-strip airfield back in 1934, said Gary McWhirter. He’s the son of former aviator T. McWhirter, namesake of the county airport. There was a 2,000-foot runway. The current airport was dedicated in November 1972, and renamed McWhirter Field in 1988.
At its dedication, the airport with a 6,000-foot runway, new terminal and hangars was the largest general aviation, noncarrier (no scheduled commercial flights) airport in South Carolina.
Discussion began in 2010 about a new terminal. It’s been part of the county’s capital planning the past seven years.
Federal money paid for nearly half of it, a part of 10 federal and state grants. Lancaster County contributed only $2.5 million of the total for the terminal and lighting vault upgrade.
The new terminal is more than 8,000 square feet. It has runway-facing and skylight windows, almost like a new state welcome center.
There’s a pilot lounge, waiting area, outdoor patio, kitchen and vending area. The county used 210 tons of asphalt to make surface improvements at the site. And, the terminal has a conference room with space for economic development projects.
“We’ve come a long way from the dirt field,” Gary McWhirter said.
Moses, who celebrates 15 years with the county this fall, sees an obvious difference.
“If you ever walked in the old terminal and viewed it through these eyes here,” he said, “this is like heaven.”
Lancaster County community, business growth
Lancaster County is the third-fastest growing county in South Carolina, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates. The airport has been a big reason why, Carnes said, and will continue to be.
The county is looking at new hangars to meet rising demand, an airport master plan and potential events like airshows, he said.
“A lot of people would say, well, we don’t really like the growth,” Carnes said. “But if you go to places in our state that are dying because they’re not growing, you’ll appreciate that we’re growing.”
A new airport hangar is one of several county facilities set to open in the next three years, he said. Others include a regional park, detention center, coroner’s office and EMS stations. Two new corporate jet hangars at the airport, Moses said, are needed to meet demand.
Siegfried sees a strong tie between communities that invest in airports and ones that grow. “Airports are gateways,” he said. “They are entrances to your community.”
The terminal at a small airport in particular, he said, is critical. That’s as far as a pilot stopping to refuel, or a business executive on that flight, might get.
Residential and corporate business growth in Lancaster County, and to a lesser extent industrial growth, have largely gone in the Indian Land area for decades.
Now thousands of homes are being built below the county panhandle, in and around Lancaster. Companies are finally looking at Lancaster, Fulk said, and the new airport terminal offers an improved view.
“It’s still humming,” Fulk said of the hundreds of millions of dollars invested in Lancaster County the past decade. “This is going to attract more investment, there’s no doubt about it.”