AOPA prods N.C. legislators to save Horace Williams
AOPA is exploring every avenue to save Horace Williams Airport in North Carolina.
Since State House Speaker Rep. Joe Hackney has left it up to the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill to decide the fate of the airport, AOPA is turning to other North Carolina legislators for help.
AOPA wrote members of the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Appropriations subcommittees on education, and health and human services. The association reminded the subcommittees of their obligation to uphold their recommendations presented earlier this summer at a joint hearing.
The subcommittees recommended that the airport remain open until a replacement facility is accessible and operational. AOPA is opposed to UNC-Chapel Hill's suggested alternative, Raleigh Durham International Airport.
The General Assembly has twice voted to study the impact of closure, but no study has been conducted.
"This year's hearing was the first significant effort to understand these issues," said Greg Pecoraro, AOPA vice president regional affairs. "Nonetheless, the university seems determined to move forward and has given no indication that it is willing to heed the will of the legislature."
Despite the university's determination to close the airport, the association will continue working to keep Horace Williams open.
September 6, 2007
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