Buttigieg to Discuss Runway Equity in Charlotte, NC
Pete Buttigieg to propose new runway in downtown Charlotte in the name of racial equity

On Wednesday of this week, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to address the aviation community in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Queen City is the first stop on a four airport tour to allegedly address airline safety. Damascus Dispatch has obtained a preliminary draft of his speech and found that Buttigieg plans to discuss runway equity instead.

The draft document begins, “While runway safety is important, and I have staff working on that, I’d like to take this moment to address a far more critical issue and that is runway equity.” The document goes on to explain how runway locations are systemically discriminating against minorities, women & children, and the LgbTq+n community. The argument posits that runways are located too far from these marginalized groups. One way to address the issue is to locate runways closer to communities in need.

Buttigieg proposes a fifth runway at Charlotte-Douglass International Airport. The runway would be created by repurposing a section of I-77 near Charlotte’s historic Fourth Ward. The location was chosen because of its proximity to the Greyhound bus station and Johnson C. Smith University, a recognized HBCU. The interstate would be blocked off during take-offs and landings and automobile traffic would be re-routed through Elmwood and Pinewood Cemetaries. Charlotte City Council is expected to embrace the idea and implement it as soon as possible.