By Betsy Finklea
Dillon County plays a role in the Florence Regional Airport, which is a key component to attracting economic development to the area.
Chuck Henderson, director of the Florence Regional Airport, explained that Dillon County is part of the Pee Dee Regional Airport District which was created by Section 55-11-610 of the S. C. Code of Laws.  The airport district consists of Florence, Marion, and Dillon Counties.
The airport was city-owned prior to World War II, Henderson said, and was ceased by the War Department for training.  It was eventually turned over to the Florence City-County Airport Commission.  In 1989, the airport district was created by legislation.
There are nine members on the Pee Dee Regional Airport Authority which oversees the airport.  It is composed of three members from Florence County, two members from the City of Florence, two from Marion County, and two from Dillon County.  Dillon County’s members are Tommy Parham and Glenn Greene, III, who is currently serving as the chairman of the authority.  The authority has by-laws.
In 1990, a per capita tax on the residents of the three counties was levied to help with the funding of the airport.  Initially, each entity contributed $1 for each resident per year.  Counties now remit .60 cents for each resident per year.  This collects about $120,000 – $19,237 comes from Dillon County.  The money goes to assist with the operations of the airport.
The airport strives to be self-sufficient, said Henderson.  The airport has a $3 million budget.  It has two entities – the terminal (commercial) part of the airport which comprises about $1.5 million of the budget and $1.5 million for the fixed-based Florence operations (FBO), which includes selling fuel, parking, air hangars, etc.
The FBO brings in as much profit as possible while the airport is more break-even.  They also bring in non-aeronautical revenue from land leases, other leases, etc.  They do what they can to generate non-aeronautical revenue.  They are developing approximately 1600 acres of property, getting it cleared and prepped for economic development.  The largest source of revenue for the airport is parking, which is about 40 percent of the revenue, and rental cars.  Expenses include maintaining the terminal building, roadways, and parking lot.
The airport currently has one airline.  Henderson said they want to charge the airline as little as possible so they will remain in the market and grow in the market.  They charge the airline a rental rate and a landing fee which is approximately $90,000 a year – a fraction of what airlines pay at other airports.  They haven’t raised the rates in 25 years.  This also helps keep ticket prices down because if rates were raised on the airlines it would likely be passed on to customers.
Henderson said the airport recently had some positive news – no discrepancies were found in a recent FAA inspection.
Henderson said the mission of the airport is safety and security, but they also want to be convenient for the traveler.  They focus on benefitting the user through the ease of the facility, offering comparable costs, creating a favorable and positive environment, and giving travelers the ability to use the airport without thinking about it.
Henderson said key decision makers from companies can’t waste their time so the benefits of the airport help aid time management through ease of use.
Many corporate entities fly supplies in for their businesses and corporate planes from Honda, Harbor Freight Tools, Rock Tenn, and Johnson controls use the airport.
Last month, there were 5,258 enplanements and 85 percent of the seats were sold.
If you would like to learn more about the airport, visit florencescairport.com.