By Madelaine Braggs | Rose Law Group Reporter
Arizona’s aviation industry, is proving to be a critical economic engine for the state, with an economic impact of over $121 billion. ADOT recently released the latest Aviation Study results with data from 2019, showing exactly how much revenue each airport brings to the table.
TOP 10 Arizona Airports (By Earnings)
| City | Airport Name | Jobs | Earnings |
| Phoenix | Phoenix Sky Harbor International | 303,699 | $15,860,822,000 |
| Tucson | Tucson International | 45,785 | $2,546,095,000 |
| Phoenix | Phoenix-Mesa Gateway | 10,224 | $524,192,000 |
| Scottsdale | Scottsdale | 5,970 | $320,160,000 |
| Mesa | Falcon Field | 4,207 | $249,412,000 |
| Phoenix | Phoenix Deer Valley | 3,097 | $182,330,000 |
| Grand Canyon | Grand Canyon National Park | 1,658 | $73,775,000 |
| Yuma | Yuma International | 1,150 | $60,016,000 |
| Goodyear | Phoenix Goodyear | 1,008 | $59,007,000 |
| Bullhead City | Laughlin/Bullhead International | 930 | $45,535,000 |
| Flagstaff | Flagstaff Pulliam | 971 | $45,140,000 |
Arizona Airports stimulated $33.0 billion or 10.2% of Arizona’s 2019 Gross State Product. That breaks down into over 380-thousand jobs (13% of employment), over $20 billion in earnings and about $3.5 billion in tax dollars.
Visitors spending also pitched in a pretty penny, to the tune of $18.4 billion in economic activity. Ten million out of state visitors flew to Arizona in 2019.
The economic impact doesn’t stop at tourism. The local aerospace manufacturing industry also saw gains in 2019, making Arizona 4th in the United States in terms of aerospace workers.
The study found for every 100 direct jobs in aerospace manufacturing, an additional 178 jobs are supported in Arizona. The state has over 116-thousand aerospace manufacturing jobs, which resulted in $51.5 billion dollars in economic activity.
Growth trends over the past 20 years indicate the Arizona aviation industry is going to continue skyrocketing. In 2002, the industry’s total economic activity was at $38.5 billion, compared to $121.4 billion in 2019. Between 2002 and 2019, total economic activity grew over 215%.
By 2040, the study forecasts over $46 billion for commercial service airports and nearly $18 billion for tourism.
Click here to see the full study.
