With new hangar, airport aims to meet corporate demand for space

The newest hangar at Johnston Regional Airport can hold up to five jets.

 

Johnston Regional Airport (JNX) on Wednesday christened its newest hangar, a 17,000-square-foot building with room for multiple planes.The ribbon cutting took place inside the new hangar with elected officials and staff members in attendance. 

Chris Johnson, the County’s director of economic development, touted the project’s benefit to Johnston County’s tax base. He noted that the hangar could hold up to five jets valued at as much as $5 million each.

“Well, $5 million times five is $25 million,” Johnson said. “ And when you think about the tax rate as it is right now, that generates over $130,000 for our citizens to reduce their tax burden, to provide schools, to provide all the infrastructure that’s needed to provide quality of life.”

With revenue growing, JNX is an outlier among airports, said David Harris, the airport’s director. “Most airports don’t get to the level of self-sufficiency that this airport has been able to achieve,” he said.

This past month, revenue from fuel sales surged to $350,000, up from a monthly average of $175,000, Harris said. “And fuel sales are the small part of our business here,” he said.

Hangar rentals drive airport revenue and support JNX operations, Harris said. “It's actually this type of facility and the rental income that we have that really run the airport,” he said.

In addition to the hangar, the airport’s latest building has about 5,000 square feet of office space. Johnston County Economic Development has made its home in some of that space.

Ken Starling, chairman of the JNX board, echoed Johnson and Harris. “Economic development really goes hand in hand with aviation,” he said. The airport “is the gateway to your county, to our county, and it provides a lot of opportunity for larger companies to be able to come in and look at our County, look at the facilities.”

Patrick Harris, chairman of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners, said the airport plays a key role in the county’s growth. “I’ve always said that if you have a vibrant county, you’ve got to have a vibrant airport,” he said. “And I think when you look at what has been accomplished here over the years and the future plans for this airport, it’s just phenomenal.”

Page last updated on:  April 13, 2026