Moore Airport May Take Off With New Name

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. — Some people want more from the Moore County Airport. They just don't want Moore in airport name.

Pinehurst boosters are toying with the idea of renaming the airport the Pinehurst-Southern Pines Airport to make the facility more recognizable and marketable.

"The word 'Pinehurst' is a world-renowned name. It's one of the top-ranked golf resorts in the world," airport manager Ron Maness said. "Moore County just doesn't have that name recognition."

The airport was called the Pinehurst-Southern Pines Airport until 1980 when the Moore County name was adopted.

Golf season has become the airport's busiest time, Maness said. The number of landings per month can almost double, and the airport often sells triple the amount of fuel, he said.

Some local residents wonder how much airport operations could climb by simply changing the airport's name -- and how much more the Pinehurst-Southern Pines name might propel the local economy.

"Everybody knows it -- Pinehurst, it sells," resident Susan Currie said.

The local airport authority has the final say on the name issue, but officials plans to address the issue next month with county leaders before taking any action.

Cary McSwain, interim Moore County manager, said he had no feelings either way on the airport name.

"It's very difficult for me to have an opinion on something that hasn't been proposed to the county yet," McSwain said.

"We hope that (county officials) will accept that change if it comes to that," Maness said.