Page 133 - Innovation Delaware 2018

program. This is a key safety and reliability improvement enabling flight plans to be accurately filed by aircraft departing anywhere in the US who want to come directly to Dover. In addition, we will be making a technology upgrade to our fuel dispensing system with better encryption and other user-friendly improvements. Finally, we will be initiating a Master Plan Update in the latter half of 2018.
Q: Is there any space available at either airport to facilitate additional air industry-related tenants?
Yes. Both hangar space and raw land for development are available at both airports. At Wilmington,
we have been quite successful in recent years in accommodating more and more business aircraft; by far, we are the largest corporate airport in the region with 60 based jets.
Q: With the new Delaware Prosperity Partnership
in place and local governments stepping up their economic development efforts for this market, do you see your two Delaware airports as significant assets
to that cause?
Of course, as I said, we always say that Airports Mean Business. Also, airports are typically a reflection of the communities that they serve. So, you could say that any government or DPP efforts to expand or bring new business to Delaware are enhanced by the existence of two fully accessible airport facilities.
Q: And the perennial question on the minds of Delawareans, and especially New Castle Countians: Can we hope for commercial airline service to return to Wilmington Airport in 2018 or 2019?
As, always, we are quite bullish on the resumption
of commercial air service. We understand and agree with the public’s appetite for low cost air service
to great non-stop destinations. In the current
airline environment, we are working to align our community’s demand profile and travel metrics with candidate airlines looking to add net new revenue to their system(s). This is a complicated way of saying that it is only a matter of time before one or more airlines recognize the low-cost and operational advantages of serving the Wilmington Airport and our growing passenger demand.
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