The Texas Aviation Economic Impact study was recently released and Hale County Airport (managed by Rocket Aviation) recorded more than $13 million dollars of economic output including 74 jobs and more the $3 million in payroll.
Output measures the value of goods and services related to the airport and is typically assumed to be the sum of annual gross sales and average annual capital expenditures. Airport, capital improvement and visitor jobs are directly related to the airport and once the multiplier effect is applied, the airport records more than $13 million of economic output.
“Plainview is blessed to have an airport and this report quantifies its importance. The airport is instrumental in economic development for the area,” says Mayor Wendell Dunlap. “We appreciate the partnership of the County and Rocket Aviation for this key piece in economic development.”
County Judge Bill Coleman echoed those sentiments – “The airport is vital to the economic success of Plainview and Hale County. They are a gateway of economic activity as well as contributing to the economic output of the area from their own employment.”
The total impact of the Texas airport systems was 778,955 jobs that received $30.1 billion in wages and benefits and workers generated $94.3 billion in economic output. Furthermore, more than 17 million visitors passed through the state’s commercial service airports, with another 1.5 million visitors making use of Texas’s general aviation services.
The Hale County Airport is a public-use, general aviation facility that serves the region’s air transportation needs. Major facilities at the airport include a 6,001-foot primary runway and a 4,000-foot secondary runway, both equipped with low intensity runway lighting. Other services include avgas and jet fuel, aircraft storage in hangars, and tie down parking.
This study was undertaken by the Texas Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division to improve their strategic planning and funding decisions. Knowledge of each airport’s economic impacts helps the Aviation Division allocate its resources in its efforts to develop and maintain the airport system as a world-class system capable of attracting businesses and visitors to Texas. This, in turn, aids the Aviation Division in supporting infrastructure development projects intended to promote economic growth around the state.
Through an extensive data gathering effort, information from each Texas system airport was compiled and validated. This data served as the input for a linear economic input-output model that expressed each airport’s economic impacts in terms of employment, payroll, and output. Each airport was analyzed for its on-airport, construction, and visitor-related impacts. Multiplier impacts were calculated to show how direct airport activity creates additional benefits. The process followed Federal Aviation Administration guidelines and has been used in previous Texas airport economic impact studies. Additionally, certain qualitative benefits were identified for the system airports.
For more information about the Hale County Airport, managed by Rocket Aviation, contact them at 806.293.4121 or www.rocket-aviation.com.