The Manassas City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. today, Monday, July 24, 2023, to decide whether or not to allow commerce airline service from the city’s regional airport.
The jets would carry nearly 200 passengers and fly to destinations, including Florida, providing new options for travelers headed to and from the Washington, D.C. area. As many as 30 flights a day could operate from the airport, which is already Virginia’s largest general aviation airport.
The city council differed a decision on the matter during its July 10 meeting. The city aims to contract with Avports, LLC to bring as many as 30 commercial flights daily to the airport in jets, accommodating nearly 200 passengers.
Several city council members expressed excitement about the prospect of the city becoming a third airline gate to the National Captial Region. The city’s airport commission unanimously approved the proposal in June.
However, not everyone is excited about living next to what could become the third passenger gateway to Washington, D.C. “Was there a request from the community for this service? Did they say, ‘We’re having a hard time trying to find flights to Florida,” asked Manassas resident Douglass Hunter during the July 10 city council meeting. “Dulles Airport is only 30 minutes away.”
Under the proposal recommended to the city council by its airport commission, Avports, LLC would lease the Manassas Regional Airport terminal for 40 years, for $642,000 a year, and be responsible for ticketing, fare gates, baggage claim, and maintaining the parking lots. Eventually, Avports would expand the terminal to accommodate 16,000 flights per year — adding to the nearly 100,000 flights per year that already take off and land at the state’s largest general aviation airport.
The biggest questions before the city — what airline, or airlines will operate at the airport, to where would they fly, and how often — are still unknown and won’t be known until later this summer, after the city council is expected to approve the plan. Avports has several non-disclosure agreements with potential airlines that prevent city officials and city residents from knowing the answers; airport officials told PLN.
The firm operates a similar service at a municipal airport in New Haven, Conn.
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