The Albert J. Ellis Airport

THE ALBERT J. T he Albert J. Ellis Airport (OAJ), named for a distinguished North Carolina legislator, is a county-owned, public-use, commercial service airport located in the Town of Richlands in Onslow County, 10 nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Jacksonville and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. “The Airport has its roots back in the 1950s, when a group of local, concerned citizens, business owners, and government officials decided it would be in the community’s best interest to build a commercial airport, and began lobbying the Civil Aeronautics Board, the precursor to the FAA, as well as Piedmont Airlines, to establish an airport here,” recounts Chris White, AAE Airport Director at OAJ for the past ten years. “Over a period of about 15 years, they got the necessary approvals and a commitment from Piedmont Airlines to initiate airline service,” White continues. “Finally, in 1968, they started construction. They opened the Airport on Valentine’s Day in 1971, and we’ve had air service, continuously, since that day. Piedmont Airlines was then bought by US Air, so that’s changed over the years. American Airlines has been operating THE ROAD AHEAD