When we think about aviation in our region, most eyes turn to Charlotte Douglas, but just a short drive away, another airport is quietly powering economic growth too, creating jobs and expanding opportunities.

Carolina Impact's Dara Khaalid and videographer John Branscum take us inside Concord-Padgett Regional Airport.

(upbeat bright music) - [Dara] It's not the typical hustle and bustle you'll find inside large airports.

- It's very calming for me, especially if someone has like anxiety of traveling.

- [Dara] If you're catching a flight at Concord-Padgett Regional Airport, this is what you'll likely see once you walk through the entrance doors of the 25,000 square foot commercial terminal building.

A lobby with a few dozen people waiting for their next stop, short ticket lines for the airport's two commercial airlines, Avelo and Allegiant.

- I'm saving, I think, about three hours, maybe four.

Time is money.

- [Dara] And this next one, you're probably not gonna believe.

A TSA line that moves at a good pace, not keeping you stuck for hours.

- We laugh about it every time we drive up.

We're like, "Oh, this is crazy.

It's gonna take forever."

- And for those like me who pack on the heavy side, once they get off their flights and come through these exit doors, they're only just a few feet away from picking up their bags right here at the baggage claim.

Each person we spoke to... - [Customer] The parking has been really good.

- [Dara] Shared a different perk about the airport.

- [Customer 2] The shortest rental car line that I've had.

- [Dara] That keeps them coming back.

- It's just easier, you know?

Especially when we're coming with, like, my grandparents.

They cannot walk a lot so just arriving in a smaller airport and having the smaller walks with them just from the plane into the car.

- [Dara] Preparing for her flight back to Puerto Rico, Alondra Ruiz shares these long, warm hugs with her family.

When Avelo opened here in 2024 with flights to San Juan, it created about 50 jobs.

It made moments like this possible.

- For this flight especially, it wasn't, like, hard.

Like, I could afford and I had, like, money for the trip, you know?

For spending time with my family and everything.

- It's a really good feeling when you see all these different family members and friends meeting for the first time or after so long not being able to see 'em, and that's one of the big perks of this job.

- [Dara] Although Alondra's family goodbyes at the airport come with a lot of tears (baby cries) and emotion, with Avelo flights to the island as low as $92, her sister, Rachlen Barreto, who lives here, may be able to visit more often.

- One ticket here can be like three times in another place, something like that so yeah, it's really affordable.

(upbeat music) - [Dara] Convenience and low crowds are something to keep in mind as you're looking for flights at Concord-Padgett.

There's nowhere near the amount of volume here compared to Charlotte Douglas's more than 1400 arrivals and departures every day.

The schedule here is structured very differently.

- There are days here when we don't have any commercial airline service.

That's the business model that they have determined is the most profitability for that.

- [Dara] In March, Avelo added two new nonstop flights to Cleveland and Indianapolis with one-way tickets starting at $39.

Passengers at Concord-Padgett help the airport generate over $1.1 billion in annual economic impact in Cabarrus County.

- We have taken off.

We continue to see growth opportunities.

- [Dara] The airport also generates $48 million in tax revenue.

Taking us on a behind the scenes tour in a golf cart, retiring aviation director, Dirk Vanderleest, revealed something many locals may not know.

- No general taxpayer funds are used for the operations of this facility here.

It's all through enterprise.

- [Dara] Here's another interesting tidbit.

The airport supports over 5,300 jobs.

Apart from commercial flights, Concord-Padgett has multiple aviation related companies operating on airport property and its own FBO, fixed base operator.

- [Dirk] Basically it's the general aviation welcome center for this region, and it's 24/7.

- [Dara] Riding around, we got a glimpse of the 25 acres of parking for aircraft and 300,000 square feet of hangar space that several businesses utilize, including two NASCAR teams.

- We provide a quality service to our fixed base operations, cost competitive in terms of our space, in terms of fuel, because today's environment as fuel goes up, but we have a great supplier.

- [Dara] Beyond the economic impact and planes, Concord-Padgett Regional Airport is really about connection.

Bringing people closer, no matter how far they travel.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Dara Khaalid.