Grand Rapids Airport to Get New Hangar, Fixed-Base Operations Facility
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The construction of a new building and hangar will increase operations and services for the Grand Rapids Gerald R. Ford International Airport.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday morning to kick off the construction of a fixed-based operation (FBO) run by Avflight Corporation, which has invested $6 million into the five acres that will hold a 30,000-square-foot hanger and a 5,000-square-foot building on the airport’s east side. It is Avflight’s 22nd FBO and its seventh location in the state.
An FBO is a separate organization that operates within the airport, servicing flights of all kinds with fuel, storage, maintenance, deicing, security services and more.The FBO will have access to the terminal, taxiways and runways, as well as the local highway system.
“We’re a full-service gas station with concierge services,” explained Joe Meszaros, vice president of operations for Ann Arbor-based Avflight corporation. He said the FBO will serve any and all commercial and non-commercial flights, including corporate, military and private aviation.
“Having Grand Rapids part of our network is very special to us,” Meszaros said. It will bring “a lot of connectivity for customers throughout the rest of our locations.”
Alex Peric, chief operating officer at the Ford Airport, said Avflight is going to fill the gaps with the increased demand for aircraft services at the Grand Rapids airport, "giving potential general aviation customers an additional option on the airport to service their plane, maintain their aircraft, to ground handle their aircraft.”
While the FBO could technically service any aircraft, it will have a focus on general aviation, which is all flights and activity outside of commercial passenger airlines.
“General aviation at our airport is responsible for business traffic, mission trips and charitable flights, health-related services, and even educational opportunities,” said Tory Richardson, Ford airport president & CEO. He said the airport generates over $3.1 billion in economic output in West Michigan each year.
Peric said general aviation makes up 90 percent of all registered aircraft in the United States, and is a $20 billion annual industry.
“That makes up a big part of the flying community,” Peric said.
About 30 jobs are expected to be added to the airport through the business venture.
This is the second FBO to ground roots at the Ford Airport, which Peric said adds some “competition” to the existing FBO company, Signature Flight Services.
Construction is set to be complete by spring 2020.
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