New airport terminal opens in Elizabethtown

ELIZABETHTOWN, NC (WECT) - Elizabethtown has a new 4,000 square foot airport, and the terminal is named after a hometown hero.

NASA astronaut Curtis Brown Jr., an Elizabethtown native, returned home Friday for the ribbon cutting at the new terminal that bears his name.

Former astronaut Curtis Brown cuts the ribbon for the new terminal.

“I’m very honored to have my name on it," Brown said. "It really blows me away. Yes, I grew up here. I don’t live here anymore and for the town to remember me and put my name on an airport, which most of the time you have to be passed away for that to happen, it’s an honor.”

The building is named after another local celebrity, Mac Campbell, founder Campbell Oil Company. The new building features a lobby, office space, conference room, pilot’s lounge, and classroom space.

The $1.4 million airport boasts a 5,000-foot runway, and 26 planes call the airport home. A $1.2 million grant from the North Carolina Division of Aviation helped fund the airport.

The terminal is expected to bring in $15 million worth of business each year. Officials said Friday they hope to establish a civil air patrol squadron at the site.