Horace Williams Airport - Closure Plans

Closure Plans

The University plans to close the airport to make room for construction of Carolina North, a planned major long-term expansion of its campus.

Opposition to closure plans began immediately after the announcement of the planned closure, in 2000 when pilots claimed that closing this air field would be a loss of infrastructure that would never be replaced. They note that upgrades to the airport approved by the FAA have kept pace with current technology and it is staffed with meticulous attention detail and careful people, although there have been some complaints about runway maintenance. The position of general aviation advocates and lobbyists is that there is something very special about airplanes, and to lose them in Chapel Hill for the sake of more buildings, traffic and population density must be carefully considered.

Conflict between the town and airport advocates has had a history dating back to the 1980s, revolving around issues such as the location of the airport in a residential area that includes 4 schools, a church, and a YMCA, as well as several crashes in the area that eventually resulted in the University's ejection of a flying club flight school from the airport. Critics of the airport noticed that the University's first plans for the Carolina North project included keeping the airport in close proximity to occupied buildings and reminded the University that liability in the event of another crash could be substantial, given the existence of known guidelines recommending against building so close to a working runway. In addition, interested private-industry interests indicated concern about the costs and liabilities of building on the site if the airport remained. The plans for Carolina North were revised, and the UNC Board of Trustees commissioned a study on the basis of which they ordered the airport closed.

The University's plans for airport closure have been blocked in the state legislature on at least three occasions since the 2000 announcement. Although some planes using the airport do so on University business, opposition to closure has historically been offered primarily by private plane owners and general aviation lobbyists desiring to preserve their access to the airport. Most recently, opposition efforts have focused on the University's planned move of six Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) planes to new facilities at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, to make way for construction of the first phase of the new Carolina North campus project, planned to include teaching, research, and cooperative public-private projects affiliated with the University. However, economic realities stalled all progress on development of Carolina North, and the airport remains open and active.