Concord-Padgett Regional Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Concord
ServesConcord, North Carolina
Focus city forAllegiant Air
Elevation AMSL705 ft / 215 m
Coordinates35°23′16″N 080°42′33″W / 35.38778°N 80.70917°W / 35.38778; -80.70917
Websitewww.concordairportnc.com
Map
USA is located in North Carolina
USA
USA
USA is located in the United States
USA
USA
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
2/20 7,402 2,256 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Aircraft operations (year ending 5/31/2022)86,654
Based aircraft233

Concord-Padgett Regional Airport (IATA: USA, ICAO: KJQF, FAA LID: JQF) is a city-owned, public-use airport located seven nautical miles (13 km) west of the central business district of Concord, a city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, United States.[1] According to the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013,[2] it is classified as a reliever airport for Charlotte Douglas International Airport.[1]

Although many U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned JQF by the FAA but had no designation from the IATA until August 22, 2013, when it was assigned the IATA code USA.[3]

Because multiple race car teams that base aircraft fleets at JQF and the airport’s proximity to the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the airport is sometimes referred to as "NASCAR's Airport."

In April 2018, the airport was renamed to honor longtime Mayor of Concord, Scott Padgett. An official ceremony was held on November 18, 2019 for the airport's 25th anniversary.[4]

Facilities and aircraft

Concord-Padgett Regional Airport covers an area of 750 acres (300 ha) at an elevation of 705 feet (215 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 2/20 with an asphalt surface measuring 7,402 by 100 feet (2,256 x 30 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending May 31, 2022, the airport had 86,654 aircraft operations, an average of 237 per day: 87% general aviation, 9% air taxi, 1% military and 4% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 233 aircraft based at this airport: 161 single-engine, 29 multi-engine, 35 jet and 8 helicopter.[1]

NASCAR

Since the airport's expansion of its runway to accommodate mid-size commercial aircraft in the early 2000s, the airport has been quite popular among local NASCAR teams. Teams charter flights out of Concord-Padgett instead of Charlotte Douglas because of its affordability and proximity to their headquarters.

Commercial passenger service

On August 20, 2013, Allegiant Air announced it would begin nonstop jet service between Concord and Orlando Sanford International Airport in December 2013. Since then the airline has expanded its nonstop service to several other vacation destinations in Florida as well as announcing new nonstop service to New Orleans. An existing hangar to the left of the main terminal was converted to a separate temporary terminal for this new commercial service. A larger permanent commercial service terminal opened in October 2016. According to FlightAware, Allegiant serves the airport with Airbus A320 jetliners.[5] On March 4, 2020, Allegiant announced Concord would be the airline's 21st operating base, housing two Airbus planes beginning October 7, 2020.[6]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Allegiant Air Fort Lauderdale, Orlando/Sanford, Punta Gorda (FL),[7] St. Petersburg/Clearwater
Seasonal: Destin/Fort Walton Beach[8]
Avelo Airlines New Haven (CT) (begins May 2, 2024)[9]

Statistics

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes from Concord Regional
(November 2021 – October 2022)[10]
Rank City Passengers Airlines
1 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 38,000 Allegiant
2 St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida 32,000 Allegiant
3 Orlando/Sanford, Florida 32,000 Allegiant
4 Punta Gorda, Florida 15,000 Allegiant
5 New Orleans, Louisiana 4,000 Allegiant
6 Melbourne, Florida 3,000 Allegiant
7 Sarasota, Florida 1,000 Allegiant
8 West Palm Beach, Florida 1,000 Allegiant

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e FAA Airport Form 5010 for JQF PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 8 April 2010.
  2. ^ National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013: Appendix A: Part 4 (PDF, 1.61 MB) Archived June 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Federal Aviation Administration. Updated 15 October 2008.
  3. ^ A search run on iata.org shows the three-letter code USA is assigned to Concord.
  4. ^ Thompson, Adam (18 November 2019). "Soaring to 25 years: City of Concord officially names airport after longtime mayor, celebrates 25 years". Independent Tribune. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  5. ^ http://www.flightaware.com, KJQF flight tracking
  6. ^ Smoot, Hannah (March 4, 2020). "Allegiant Air to spend $50 million to create Concord airport base, add dozens of jobs". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  7. ^ Mutzabaugh, Ben (June 28, 2016). "Allegiant Air breaks into Newark as it adds 3 cities to route map". USA Today. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  8. ^ "Home". allegiantair.com.
  9. ^ "Avelo announces 4 new destinations from New Haven, including Atlanta". New Haven Register. February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  10. ^ "Concord, NC: Concord-Padgett Regional (USA)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Retrieved February 22, 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Concord Regional Airport.
Commercial airports in North Carolina
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