Nov. 18, 2020
“Nebraska Aviation Counts!,” a new website hosted by the Nebraska Department of Transportation, Division of Aeronautics, demonstrates the economic impact of aviation activities throughout the state, including business aviation.
“Nebraska’s new website highlights the value of aviation to the state from an economic standpoint, and also demonstrates the industry’s role in community service and support,” said Steve Hadley, NBAA’s director of regional programs and Southwest Central regional representative. “NBAA and its members already know how aviation positively impacts a community, state or region. The interactive nature of the website allows users to see data specific to their airport, which is important when talking with state or national lawmakers or the general public.”
The Nebraska airport system consists of 80 airports, with scheduled commercial airline service at nine of these airports, and the other 71 airports dedicated to serving the needs of general aviation.
A recent Nebraska Aviation Economic Impact Study called the state’s airports “important economic engines,” determining the economic impact of aviation throughout the state to be $8.6 billion in 2019. This number includes tenant and business activity, construction, visitor spending and military spending.
Aviation supports 90,282 jobs in the state and $3.5 billion in payroll. The study found airport-related activity generated an estimated $142 million in tax revenue on direct spending alone. Aviation fuel taxes contributed almost $1.8 million to the state for aviation program costs.
The state’s new website also features a calculator for users to determine the economic impact of adding or removing jobs or increasing or decreasing visitors at a specific airport. Highlights include various case studies, such as Fremont Municipal Airport (FET),which became a hub for humanitarian efforts following the 2020 meteorological phenomenon known as a “bomb cyclone,” which left the region flooded after two levees were breached.
“We commend the Nebraska Department of Transportation’s Division of Aeronautics for its efforts to clearly define the economic impact of aviation in the state and to create a user-friendly, interactive website to display that information,” added Hadley.