March 6, 2018
During the recent Kansas Aviation Day, an event designed to highlight the importance of the aviation and aerospace industries to the state, Steve Hadley, NBAA’s senior director of regional programs and Southwest regional representative, promoted business aviation as an economic driver in Kansas.
The mission of the annual event in Topeka, sponsored by the Kansas Department of Transportation Division of Aviation and the Kansas Commission on Aerospace Education and supported by NBAA, is to show lawmakers the positive impact that these industries have on the Sunflower State.
“There was a large turnout of state legislators, state transportation officials and aviation industry representatives,” said Hadley. “From the NBAA booth at the event, we were able to speak individually to more than 40 legislators and their staff about the value of business aviation and local community airports in the state of Kansas.”
Aviation officials pointed out the significant contribution of general aviation to the economy of Kansas, noting that more than 73 percent of the world’s general aviation fleet of aircraft were manufactured in the state. Furthermore, the more than 140 public-use airports in Kansas – which employ more than 47,000 people – create more than $10 billion in annual economic impact.
“Aviation is vital to the economic well-being of Kansas,” said Hadley. “By employing more than 91,000 people with an annual payroll of $4.4 billion, aviation plays a unique role in a state that manufactures the majority of the world’s general aviation aircraft.”
He also noted that Kansas is shaping up to be a key state in the development of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). By 2025 the economic impact of UAS activities in Kansas is expected to be $2.9 billion, and that sector is forecast to create 3,700 new jobs.
Hadley presented lawmakers and other officials with a variety of NBAA and No Plane No Gain resources, including NBAA’s Airports Handbook, information on the new NBAA mentoring program and facts about business aviation.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.