Boeing and Aura Aero outlined expansions tied to Daytona Beach International Airport on Friday as Volusia County officials and local university leaders described recent airline service gains and rising aviation employment.

At a breakfast event hosted by Volusia County Economic Development, Cyrus Callum, Volusia County’s aviation and economic resources director, said passenger traffic through the airport rose in early 2025 — January up 4 percent, February up 7 percent and March up 7.5 percent — and that the airport has added nine nonstop destinations since 2023. Callum noted the airport’s 10,500‑foot runway as a competitive asset for attracting larger aircraft and new services.

The growth, presenters said, is already producing local tax and economic benefits. Callum reported that since June 2023 the county has received about $1.9 million in tax receipts tied to two new carriers and estimated nearly $24 million in economic impact over two years from that service. He said the county is nearing the end of a minimum revenue guarantee arrangement with one carrier and expects some funds to be returned because the service exceeded expectations.

Dr. Ronnie Mack, director of research park operations at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, said the campus serves roughly 8,500 students and a campus population of about 10,000 when faculty and staff are included. Mack said the university’s activity supports “over 12,000 supported jobs” in the community and that “the economic impact over time has been close to $372,000,000.” He also cited a 95 percent job‑placement rate for recent graduates and described the university’s role in local workforce and research partnerships.

Representatives from Boeing and Aura Aero described facility and hiring plans tied to Daytona Beach. Michael Farrow, senior manager for state and local government operations at Boeing, said Boeing will open a facility on the Embry‑Riddle campus with secure (SCIF) space and expects to have “over 200 Boeing employees in this facility within the next year or so.” Farrow described Florida as “a Boeing State” and emphasized workforce pipelines from local institutions and veterans.

Drew McEwen, chief commercial officer at Aura Aero, said the French manufacturer plans U.S. manufacturing and support activity at Daytona Beach. McEwen said Aura Aero has about 270 employees worldwide, more than 600 purchase intentions and has raised “over $200,000,000.” He said Aura Aero plans to build the 19‑seat hybrid‑electric ERA regional airliner in the U.S., described a factory footprint on site and cited an investment figure of about $200 million for the project.

Speakers also framed the expansions within larger industry trends. County presenters and Boeing noted Florida’s concentration of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activity and a statewide increase in aerospace GDP over the past decade; Callum said aviation and aerospace employment in Volusia County grew about 69 percent over the last 10 years but still represents a relatively small share of total county employment (about 1,572 jobs in the sector, he said).

Organizers closed the program by inviting attendees to follow up with presenters. Several speakers encouraged local employers, educators and economic development partners to coordinate on workforce training and marketing to sustain new routes and manufacturers’ supply needs.