State budget redirects $30 million for aviation facility at Global TransPark
A provision in North Carolina’s 2026 state budget redirects $30 million previously approved for an aviation project at the North Carolina Global TransPark in Kinston.
The funding may be used to construct and support either a flight training facility or a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility, according to Senate Bill 257, which became Session Law 2026-41 after Gov. Josh Stein signed it July 7.
Global TransPark officials have identified Kinston-based private aviation company flyExclusive as the intended operator of the facility.
The $30 million is not a new appropriation directly to flyExclusive. State lawmakers originally approved the money in the 2023 budget for a flight training and corporate office facility at the Global TransPark.
Under the new law, the money will be transferred from the North Carolina Department of Transportation to the Department of Commerce. Commerce may authorize the funding for the construction, operation, maintenance and repair of an aviation facility at the TransPark.
Before the transfer can occur, Commerce must arrange one or more agreements involving the prospective operator, the Department of Transportation and the North Carolina Global TransPark Authority.
Those agreements must require the operator to invest at least $10 million toward construction. The state’s financial responsibility will be limited to $30 million, and the operator will be responsible for any costs above that amount.
The Global TransPark Authority will retain ownership of the completed facility. The operator will enter into a lease for the land where the facility is built.
The project comes as aviation operations continue to expand at the Global TransPark. Recent developments include the opening of the Jim Perry Aviation Center for Excellence, expanded Airbus operations and a new 10-year agreement with Fleet Readiness Center East.
The Jim Perry Aviation Center for Excellence, operated through Lenoir Community College, provides students with training for aviation-related careers and is intended to support the workforce needs of companies operating at the TransPark.
FlyExclusive is headquartered at the Global TransPark and operates private jet charter, fractional ownership and aircraft maintenance services. The company leases office and hangar space at the aviation and industrial complex.
The budget provision does not establish a construction schedule or provide a specific estimate for the number of jobs associated with the facility. Those details are expected to be addressed through the agreements required before the funds are transferred.
