Napa County Airport – Atlantic Aviation Announces New Hangar & Terminal Project
A Pivotal Role in Air Transportation
Napa County Airport (IATA: APC, ICAO: KAPC), situated in beautiful and idyllic Napa, California, is a public-use aerodrome serving general aviation and commercial aviation-related needs. The facility has an interesting history and plays a clearly pivotal role in the region’s air transportation and tourism industries. The airport is sometimes called the gateway to wine country.
Training Newly Minted Aviators
The earliest days of Napa County Airport date back to the 1940s, when it was originally proposed during World War II as a military aviation instructional airfield. Known in the initial days as the Napa Army Airfield, the facility was used for training newly minted army aviators and conducting military aviation-related operations. After the war ended, the U.S. government decommissioned the air base. Then, in 1948, it was handed over to Napa County and ultimately retooled for civilian aviation use.
Napa Valley’s Thriving Wine Industry
Following the wartime years, Napa Airport was transformed into a regional aviation hub for general aviation, with a focus on private and corporate aircraft, air charter services, and agricultural flights. Napa Valley’s thriving wine industry and tourist popularity boosted the airport’s steady expansion, as it became the preferred entry point for tourists and business travelers eager to visit California’s world-famous wineries, exclusive luxury resorts, and stunning Northern California landscapes.
Modern Higher Performance Aircraft
As years passed, Napa Airport further expanded its footprint to better manage growing traffic flow and the surge in modern, higher-performance aircraft. A major runway extension project in the 1970s improved the field’s capacity and overall airport safety.
Aircraft Maintenance and Repair Services
Today, Napa County Airport serves as a vital and strategic hub for private aviation. It is home to many private pilots, flight training schools, charter operations, and aircraft maintenance and repair facilities. The airport also supports medical-evac flights and provides a base for fire-fighting aircraft during the wildfire season, which is particularly important in forest-fire-prone California.
Domestic and International Visitors
The airport’s unique location deep within the heart of wine country has made it a central point of entry for both domestic and international visitors. While it does not currently provide commercial airline passenger flights, it is an airport on the move, exhibiting huge growth potential. This is clearly seen with the latest Atlantic Aviation Fixed Base Operator (FBO) hangar terminal construction project.
What is a Fixed Base Operator?
A Fixed Base Operator (FBO) is an aviation-related facility that makes available essential services to general aviation aircraft and pilots along with their passengers at mostly regional-sized airports. These vital services include fueling, aircraft maintenance, hangar space, pilot training, and ground handling. FBOs are essential for private pilots, business jet operators, and other non-commercial aviation users who need support while flying into or out of an airport. They frequently provide additional services, including lounges, catering, concierge services, and transportation options for passengers.
Phase One Construction
The Atlantic Aviation project is well on its way to becoming a reality. On November 15th, the Plano, Texas, company announced that site preparations had been completed. This means that phase one construction of the new facility can now begin. The exciting news lets interested parties know that the actual work will begin in the immediate months ahead, with project completion scheduled for late 2025.
30-Year Lease
Atlantic Aviation will have, once finished, a 9,500-square-foot terminal structure and a 39,000-square-foot aircraft hangar. Atlantic currently conducts day-to-day operations from an existing terminal budling at the Napa Airport. The plans for a newly constructed terminal at the county-run airport were initiated shortly after signing a 30-year lease about two years ago. Home-based in Plano, Texas, as mentioned, Atlantic operates and maintains well over 100 FBO locations throughout the North American continent.
Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly
The project serves to expand existing Napa County Airport capacity and capabilities and is an important milestone for the company. The project is focused on a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to regional airport operations. For example, the new facility’s sustainability features will include 2,000 square feet of solar array panels, water-conserving systems, and fixtures, native natural landscaping, as well as multiple electric vehicles (EV) charging stations — with the intention to add dozens more going forward.
Napa Jet Center
Atlantic Aviation first appeared on the scene at the Napa County Airport in 2022 following the accusation of the Lynx FBO Network. Lynx had previously acquired the Napa Jet Center, which at the time was the airport’s lone FBO dating back to 1946. Another FBO on-site at the airport is Sky Service, a Toronto-based company that broke ground on its 60,000-square-foot corporate jet center and hangar complex this past October. It is also slated for completion sometime next year.
Redevelopment Project
Together, the new terminal projects will total more than $27 million and can be expected to generate revenues of more than $130 million for the airport over the full term of the leases. These new terminals are clearly essential to the airport’s $3.7 million redevelopment project, which is currently in motion and targeted for completion around the middle of next year.
Create an Urban Air-Mobility Network
Equally impressive and also recently announced is that Atlantic’s NAPA base would be one of five key locations near the San Francisco Bay Area to create an urban air-mobility network along with Archer Aviation, a San Jose-based maker of electric powered air taxis.
Minimal Electric Charge Requirements
Atlantic and the four other locations Archer announced — South San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and Livermore — will operate Archer’s Midnight, a piloted, four-passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft advertised as fully sustainable with very low noise levels and with minimal electric charge time requirements between each flight. This will, in effect, cut a one- to two-hour ground-based drive to just 10–20 minutes of air travel time.
Critical Aviation Services
FBO facilities maintain a crucial role in supporting local communities and contributing to airport revenue generation. They serve as the main point of contact for private, business, and general aviation aircraft operations, offering a host of critical aviation services. FBOs boost the local economy by drawing business travelers and private aviation clientele, who typically contribute in a substantial way to regional spending on things like hotels, restaurants, and transportation.
Infrastructure Upgrades
Most modern FBOs generate considerable revenue for airports through service fees, hangar rentals, and aviation fuel sales. This income is important for airports, especially those that do not have large commercial traffic income, helping fund operations, infrastructure upgrades, and community programs. The presence of a well-equipped FBO also makes an airport more attractive to potential new businesses and aviation-related industries, further bolstering economic growth and employment opportunities for the surrounding communities.
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