“Asheville and the hills around it are full of many sights and sounds…famed as a resort city, each year the area attracts thousands of visitors from all parts of the United States...It has become a popular spot for retirees, as well as industries…” This excerpt from a newspaper article could easily have been written in 2023, but you may be surprised to learn that it was written in 1961. The article titled “Asheville ‘In the Land of the Sky’” appeared in the June 1, 1961 edition of The Piedmonitor, a newsletter published by Piedmont Aviation that focused on the aviation industry. “New multi-million dollar airport is latest star in Asheville’s crown,” states a caption beneath a photo of the newly opened Asheville Regional Airport. How did AVL evolve from a small local airport with unpaved runways to a large regional commercial airport? Let’s take a brief look at the rich history of AVL.
1920s: Asheville Begins to Grow
The beginning of AVL takes us all the way back to the 1920s. Asheville was growing, but there were no airports in the area, so pilots used various landing strips and small airfields in the area. One such landing strip was “Baird’s Bottom,” which was later flooded to create what is now Beaver Lake in North Asheville. Not only was Asheville growing, but the aviation industry was beginning to, as well. In 1925, Asheville’s Chamber of Commerce realized, like now, that Asheville was destined to become a key tourist destination and for that to happen, a commercial airport was needed. An aviation committee was created, and the search for land to build an airport began. In 1928, airport development began and the first version of the airport was opened in August of 1928 in Fletcher. This small airport had two unpaved grass runways and a hangar.
1930s: Asheville Finally Gets a Commercial Airport
In 1936 the Asheville-Hendersonville Airport was established after the citIes of Asheville and Hendersonville together purchased 122 acres of land that included the unpaved runways. The goal was to expand the airport to better serve the growing communities of Western North Carolina…wait, is this 1936 or 2023? The commercial airport was created and later improved in the 1940s when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operated the airport. The Asheville-Hendersonville Airport allowed airlines like Delta, Capital, and Piedmont to fly into the area.
1950s: Asheville Outgrows Its Current Airport
As air travel became increasingly popular in the late 1950s, it became obvious that another larger airport was needed. Unfortunately, due to its location in close proximity to mountain ranges, the Asheville-Hendersonville Airport couldn’t be expanded any further. So, the City of Asheville searched for a new location that would allow longer runways to be built that could accommodate the larger planes used in commercial air travel.
A brand new airport would be a multi-million-dollar project that would take years to complete but would greatly benefit the region. This is sounding a lot like 2023 again, isn’t it? “Those in favor say that the airport is needed if Asheville, Buncombe County, and western North Carolina are to keep step with other progressive areas of the state and south. They contend that the present facilities will be obsolete within a very short time…” states an article in the May 5, 1955 edition of The Black Mountain News that also could have been written in the present day. Like today, bonds were issued in order to complete the large project.
1960s: Asheville Regional Airport is Born
On January 16, 1961 Asheville Regional Airport, located about three miles away from the previous Asheville-Hendersonville Airport, was opened. This $2.2 million dollar airport was located on 740 acres and operated by the City of Asheville. The airport was approved to operate day and night commercial flights. Once the 25,060-square-foot terminal building opened in June of that year, the airport was fully operational.
In 1962 an instrument landing system was installed, providing additional safety measures for pilots.
Over Sixty Years and Countless Changes Later
The airport has seen astounding growth and many changes since it opened its doors in 1961. Projects have included runway expansion, construction of new buildings on the airport property, expansion of the terminal, the addition of a loop road, new apron and ramp areas, new boarding ramps, construction of the rental car facility, various improvements around the terminal, the addition of a parking garage, re-development of the airfield, and a new replacement runway.
Changes in sponsorship and governance have also taken place. In 1980, the governance of the airport changed from the City of Asheville to the new Asheville Regional Airport Authority. Then, in 2012 North Carolina legislature voted to change the structure of the airport board, resulting in the current Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority (GARAA), which is the sole sponsoring and governing body for the airport.
The Past Meets the Present
From its humble beginnings as a tiny airfield with unpaved runways to the third busiest airport in the state, Asheville Regional Airport has seen a huge amount of change. And with more change on the horizon, things will look even more different than before in just a few years. It is said that history repeats itself, and Asheville Regional Airport once again finds itself expanding to accommodate and better serve the region. Over the course of 62 years, the airport has reached heights that were never thought possible way back in 1925, when dreams of an airport started to take form.
As the airport sits on the precipice of another great expansion, consider these predictive and lasting words of a newspaper writer from the January 12, 1961 edition of The Black Mountain News: “Here’s to hoping that in the not too distant future the new Asheville Airport can be termed one of the busiest and most attractive in North Carolina.”
