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Board proclaims National Nurses Week and Air Quality Awareness Week; Asheville Airport reports modest 2024 passenger decline
Summary
The board issued proclamations for National Nurses Week and Buncombe County Air Quality Awareness Week and received the Asheville Airport's 2024 annual operating report noting about 2.17 million passengers in 2024, a 3.2% decline attributed in part to Tropical Storm Helene.
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners issued several proclamations and received the Asheville Airport’s 2024 annual operating report during the May 6 meeting.
Proclamations: The board proclaimed May 6–12, 2025, as National Nurses Week in Buncombe County, highlighting the role of public‑health nurses, nurse‑family partnership nurses, communicable‑disease nurses and mobile teams in local services. The board also proclaimed May 2025 as Buncombe County Air Quality Awareness Month/Week, noting local air‑quality monitoring work by the Asheville‑Buncombe Air Quality Agency and encouraging residents to consult AirNow and local resources. Chair Amanda Edwards signed the air‑quality proclamation and county staff encouraged residents to use local air‑quality maps and resources in the wake of storm‑related smoke and debris risks.
Asheville Airport report: Lou Blyweiss, president and CEO of Asheville Airport (AVL), briefed the board on 2024 operations. He said the airport had six commercial carriers and roughly 27 nonstop destinations, and reported about 2.17 million passengers in 2024 (a decrease of about 3.2%). Blyweiss attributed some declines and operational impacts to Tropical Storm Helene, described a 77.6% load factor and noted construction work underway on parking and terminal and control‑tower projects (combined project costs cited by staff at about $420 million for terminal and tower projects). He also highlighted community outreach events, charitable giving and an economic impact figure presented by the state showing the airport contributes roughly $3.85 billion to the Western North Carolina economy.
