Departure
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MY FS FLIGHTS
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Charleston Executive Airport (KJZI) is a general aviation field on Johns Island, seven miles southwest of downtown Charleston, South Carolina, operated by the Charleston County Aviation Authority. It offers two hard-surfaced, lit runways and an ILS approach, making it a practical and interesting VFR or IFR destination for simulator pilots exploring the Lowcountry.
Charleston Executive Airport, identified as KJZI, sits on Johns Island a short distance southwest of the city of Charleston. It is a public-use general aviation airport owned by the Charleston County Aviation Authority and serves the wider Charleston region as one of the Authority's satellite fields alongside Charleston International. With two lit hard-surface runways, an ILS approach and a mix of piston, jet and occasional military traffic, it is a compact but well-equipped field of interest to sim pilots wanting a taste of Lowcountry general aviation flying.
The airport lies on Johns Island, about seven miles southwest of downtown Charleston, South Carolina, within the wider Charleston terminal area. It is served by Charleston Approach/Departure for arrivals and departures requiring radar service, and clearance delivery is available through Charleston Approach as well. Its position places it close to Charleston International Airport and the other general aviation fields administered by the Charleston Regional Aviation Authority, namely Mount Pleasant Regional and Berkeley County airports.
The airfield has two hard-surfaced, lit physical runways. Runway 09/27 runs 5,318 feet as runway 09 and 4,967 feet as runway 27, with runway 09 equipped with an ILS approach. Runway 04/22 runs 4,985 feet as runway 04 and 4,305 feet as runway 22. Field elevation is 16 feet.
Pilots should use 120.7 MHz for approach and departure services. The airport's automated weather observing system, AWOS-3, broadcasts on 123.775 MHz. Clearance delivery is available on 127.15 MHz. CTAF/UNICOM traffic is worked on 122.8 MHz. An ILS approach serves runway 09.
Traffic patterns at both runways are left-hand, with no right-hand circuits published for either runway direction. Runway lighting, including high-intensity runway lights on 09/27, medium-intensity runway lights on 04/22, and runway end identifier lights and PAPI on runway 09 and 27, is pilot-controlled via the CTAF from sunset to sunrise, with intensity increases also selectable through the same frequency. The PAPI on runways 09 and 27 operates continuously during daylight hours. Pilots should note published remarks concerning deer and bird activity on and in the vicinity of the airport, and a tree line 231 feet east of the runway 4 threshold rising 21 feet high, both of which are relevant to approach and departure planning.
The airfield is located on Johns Island, within easy reach of the resort communities of Kiawah Island and Seabrook Island to the south, and a short distance from historic downtown Charleston to the northeast, both useful as broad orientation references when inbound from the coast or from the city.
The airfield began life in April 1943 as Johns Island Army Airfield, initially operating as an auxiliary unmanned emergency landing field to Columbia Army Air Base. On 31 March 1944 jurisdiction passed to Charleston Army Airfield after Charleston was reassigned to Air Transport Command, and the field served as an emergency landing base supporting transatlantic flights, with no permanent structures built during this period. On 25 August 1945 the airfield was handed over to local authorities and converted into a civil airport. Occasional military aircraft continue to use the field today.
Charleston Executive Airport serves the general aviation community exclusively, with no scheduled airline service. In the year ending December 2019 it recorded around 31,000 aircraft operations, roughly 85 per day, split between general aviation, military and air taxi traffic, with 39 aircraft then based on the field, predominantly single-engine types. Atlantic Aviation operates as the fixed-base operator, providing aircraft parking, fuel, hangars, flight training and corporate jet facilities. Prior permission is required for clearance delivery coordination with Charleston Approach.
