Hilton Head Airport sees 236 percent increase in passengers in 2019
You’re not imagining it — more jets are flying to Hilton Head Island, and more passengers are using the airport on the island’s north end for travel.
In the first half of this year, 96,000 passengers came through the Hilton Head Island airport, according to a news release from the airport.
In the first six months of 2018, the airport saw 28,505 total passengers, according to airport data. That’s a 236% increase in the number of people boarding flights and landing at the airport.
This year’s total passengers also dwarfs the 78,795 passengers who used the airport in all of 2018.
The influx of people using the on-island airport comes after a year of massive expansion. In July 2018, the airport finished a 700-foot runway extension to accommodate larger jets.
The larger jets came running.
In November, United Airlines announced it would begin flying nonstop between Hilton Head Island and Washington, D.C., Chicago and New York.
Shortly after the United announcement, Delta Air Lines hopped on board and announced it would fly from Hilton Head Island to New York and Atlanta.
American Airlines, once the only air carrier on Hilton Head Island, announced more direct flights in November.
“The growth we’re seeing at the airport goes to show how necessary these new flights were,” Beaufort County Airports Director Jon Rembold said in a news release. “In the past, passengers had to often fly into an airport outside of the county and then drive.
“Our new service options on American, United and Delta allow passengers to fly into or out of Hilton Head Island Airport and truly start their vacation upon arriving.”
As the new flights have started, some airlines have made an effort to avoid confusion between the Hilton Head Island airport, on Beach City Road on the island, and the Savannah/ Hilton Head International Airport, 40 miles away in Pooler, Georgia.
“We recommend double checking your reservation to make sure you arrive at the correct location for your flight,” passenger tickets from Delta now read.
In 2018, the Savannah airport reported that 2.8 million passengers flew in and out of the airport.
So far this year, 732,252 passengers have boarded flights in Savannah, and 744,667 have flown into the airport, according to the Savannah airport’s publicly available data.
Community effects of a growing airport
In May, four businesses on the west side of the airport were put on notice that they may be relocated to make way for a new airport terminal. Beaufort County is surveying the properties on Hunter Road and told owners that the county would buy the property and pay for relocation costs if necessary.
The potential Hunter Road acquisitions join a growing list of airport-related changes on the north end of the island.
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In February, Hilton Head Island Town Council began closed discussions about purchasing St. James Baptist Church and the Old Cherry Hill School north of the airport.
Representatives of the church have been part of those negotiations, which include relocating the school building and moving the church to a building nearby, the Rev. Charles Hamilton of the church told The Island Packet in March.
Moving the buildings will clear people out of the object-free zone of the newly expanded runway. The church was first built in 1886; the school was built in 1937.
This story was originally published August 9, 2019 at 4:45 AM.
