Johns Island airport to get $2.3M upgrade

Executive facility has seen increase in landings since Kiawah hotel opened Charleston County will spend $2.3 million to upgrade its airport on Johns Island in the coming year, in part to handle more traffic from jet-set travelers bound for a new luxury hotel on Kiawah Island. The Charleston County Aviation Authority said The Sanctuary, which opened on Kiawah Island in August, spurred an increase in landings at its "executive" airport nearby. The 255-room hotel also has drawn more business groups and big corporate jets, which put more wear and tear on runways than the smaller planes typically used by recreational pilots and flight students. The county will pay about $114,000 to strengthen the two Johns Island landing strips, enlarge a jet parking area and hire a consultant to update the facility's master plan. Most of the cost of the project will be covered with $2.2 million in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration. "It's a matter of trying to stay ahead of the damage," said David Jennings, chairman of the aviation authority. "We don't ever want to be in a situation where our facilities limit the service that the marketplace demands." About 136 takeoffs and landings are recorded during an average day at the airport, according to Airnav.com, a Web site that helps private pilots plan their routes. "The runways certainly need it," one airport worker said. "Since that thing opened, we've been dead full every weekend." Traffic at the Johns Island strip was rising steadily even before The Sanctuary opened. The number of planes based at the airport has remained at 76 for years, but fuel sales at the facility increased by an average of 6.5 percent a year for each of the past five years, according to Charleston County Aviation Authority statistics. In the fiscal year ended June 30, planes took on 662,000 gallons of gas at the airport. The authority said it hasn't tallied fuel sales since The Sanctuary opened. Matt Owen, a spokesman for Kiawah Island Golf Resort, said Kiawah's beachfront has always pulled private planes to the Johns Island airport. Owen said more travelers have arrived on private planes in recent months, but the resort does not track how many of its guests arrive by air. Charleston County does not charge those who land private planes and park them at its facilities. Instead, it collects a percentage of gross revenue from the companies that fuel and service the craft. The county recently has garnered about $100,000 in yearly revenue from the Johns Island landing strip. It's common for local governments to grab federal dollars to improve municipal airports. In the past five years, the Charleston airport authority collected an average of $3.5 million a year for capital improvements. After landing an eight-passenger Learjet 60 at the executive airport Wednesday afternoon, Edward Murrow, a pilot for New York-based Executive Flightways, said the Johns Island runways were in good shape. It was Murrow's first touchdown at the Johns Island strip, but he said he didn't feel any depressions in the runway. "There weren't any cracks or grass growing through, either, which is a good sign," Murrow said. "I've definitely seen worse."

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