Coastal Carolina Regional Airport is a commercial airport located three miles (5 km) southeast of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

of New Bern, a city in

Craven County, North Carolina Craven County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 100,720. Its county seat is New Bern. The county was created in 1705 as Archdale Precinct from the now-extinct Bath County. It was renamed ...

, United States. EWN covers 785 acres (318 ha) of land. Coastal Carolina Regional Airport is the closest commercial airport to North Carolina's Outer Banks and Crystal Coast. The airport is the main connection to such Crystal Coast destinations as Cape Lookout National Seashore, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the Outer Banks, Crystal Coast,

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and ...

Atlantic Beach, North Carolina Atlantic Beach is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. It is one of the five communities located on Bogue Banks. The population was 1,495 at the 2010 census. History The idea of Atlantic Beach was first envisioned in the 1870 ...

, various seasonal camps including Camp Sea Gull/Seafarer and Camp Don Lee, and Emerald Isle, North Carolina. On July 10, 2008 the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

ratified a bill that allowed Craven County Regional Airport to change its name to Coastal Carolina Regional Airport. The name change became effective on August 15, 2008. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2017–2021, in which it is

categorized Categorization is the ability and activity of recognizing shared features or similarities between the elements of the experience of the world (such as objects, events, or ideas), organizing and classifying experience by associating them to a ...

as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.

History

The airport was previously named Craven County Regional Airport, Simmons-Nott Airport, and New Bern Regional Airport. Simmons-Nott came from North Carolina Senator

Furnifold McLendel Simmons Furnifold McLendel Simmons (January 20, 1854April 30, 1940) was an American politicians who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1887 to March 4, 1889 and U.S. senator from the state of North ...

who was present at the 1931 dedication of the new terminal. During an air performance for the dedication, United States Marine Corps First Lieutenant Joel Nott was killed. Senator Simmons required that 1stLt Nott's named be added to the airport to pay homage for the fallen military officer.Shettle(2001):40 On August 8, 1941, the Marine Corps leased the airport to become an outlying field of

and named it OLF Camp Mitchell. In the beginning of 1942, the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

used the field for anti-submarine patrols. The field was later closed for seven months during 1942 while two hard surface runways and a runway lighting system were installed. The first Marine aviation units began to arrive at the field in February 1943. Among the units to train at the field during the war was Marine Aircraft Group 34 and fighter squadrons VMF-324 and

VMF-511 Marine Fighting Squadron 511 (VMF-511) was a fighter squadron of the Marine Corps and Marine Forces Reserve during World War II and the Cold War which flew aircraft types such as the F6F Hellcat, F4U Corsair, and the F-8 Crusader. They were orig ...

. In January 1944, plans were announced to expand the field. However, these plans were abandoned because the Marine Corps acquired surplus Army fields. In 2011, Coast Carolina Regional Airport hosted three Honor Flights for World War II veterans. Craven Regional Airport has previously been serviced by Midway Airlines, American Eagle, Piedmont Airlines, Charter Express, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Wheeler Airline, Henson Airlines and National Airlines. Today, scheduled commercial flights tend to consist of four arrivals and four departures per day.

Terminal

Coastal Carolina Regional Airport currently has three gates for use by airlines, all of which are located on the central pier and share a common boarding area. The $17-million terminal for EWN was completed on November 5, 1999, by the LPA Group. As of June 2006, Coastal Carolina Regional has approved their 20-year master plan, which included an extension of the main runway, the runway safety area expansion, a larger noise zone, and a new control tower. Also located in the terminal are an eatery, named Triple Play Oasis Restaurant & Sports Bar, and several car rental agencies. Construction is slated to begin on a major terminal expansion in late 2022 or early 2023. The terminal project will increase the size of the facility by approximately 20% and include: new gates and dedicated airplane boarding bridges, a new terminal entrance canopy, an enhanced security screening checkpoint area, new modern restrooms, an extended baggage claim belt, an area for service animals, and many new energy efficient enhancements throughout. All are scheduled for completion by late summer 2024.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Top destinations

* Delta Air Lines terminated service to EWN in July 2020.

Carrier shares

General aviation

Coastal Carolina Regional is in the top 10 of North Carolina's airports. EWN is served by American Airlines and has general aviation. EWN is currently looking for additional airlines to provide additional air service due to eastern North Carolina. For the 12-month period ending May 31, 2016, the airport had 35,109 aircraft operations, an average of 96 per day: 73% general aviation, 21% air taxi, 5% military, and <1% commercial. In May 2017, there were 85 aircraft based at this airport: 75 single- engine, , 2

jet Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

, and 3 helicopter. General aviation provides most of the aircraft movements at EWN. The fixed-base operators at EWN are Tidewater Air, LLC and Tradewind International. A parachute jumping school is currently seeking approval to be based at EWN. In August 2020, Coastal Carolina Regional Airport awarded a $5.8M contract to build a new Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) facility.

Accidents

*On November 20, 1966, a Piedmont Airlines Martin 4-0-4 on a positioning flight crashed 3.1 miles (5 km) south of EWN on approach, colliding with trees and crashing into a wooded area. All three occupants were killed.

References

Books

External links

* (official site) * at North Carolina DOT airport guide * *
{{Commercial airports in North Carolina 1931 establishments in North Carolina Airports established in 1931 Airports in North Carolina Buildings and structures in New Bern, North Carolina Transportation in Craven County, North Carolina