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Manassas Regional Airport’s plan to become the region’s newest commercial-service airport has taken another step forward, but its debut has been pushed to spring 2027, airport officials told the Manassas City Council Monday night.
Marc Ricks, CEO of Avports, the private developer leading the transformation, said the airport continues to make progress toward commercial operations, but several certifications and assessments must still be completed. Agreements with airlines have still yet to be determined.
In 2023, the City Council approved a 40-year lease giving Avports exclusive rights to manage commercial service at the city-owned airport, known as HEF. The original timeline projected commercial flights as early as 2025, but construction delays on taxiway bridges and a redesign of a runway bridge moved that estimate to 2026.
Ricks now expects the first flights in April or May 2027.
Ricks praised the airport for receiving a letter from the Federal Aviation Administration confirming HEF has met key standards to transition from a general-aviation field to a passenger-service airport.
“It’s really an extraordinary accomplishment,” Ricks said. “The FAA does not issue these certificates on anything approaching a regular basis.”
The airport is currently undergoing an environmental assessment to evaluate potential impacts from the expansion. Ricks said the project represents a major infrastructure upgrade for the Washington–Baltimore region and fills a gap in commercial air service availability.
“When we think about the Manassas airport, we think of it as an opportunity — not to build something that will rival BWI, Dulles or Reagan,” Ricks said, “but one that can accommodate market access for new carriers.”
Ricks told councilmembers the D.C. metro area lags behind other major regions in commercial airport options.
“You should expect to see us launch the airport with one or, at most, two airlines,” he said. “And then once air service demand is proven, I think we can see other airlines follow.”
Ricks said the new terminal aims to offer convenience uncommon at larger airports, with a projected “curb to gate” time of 7 to 12 minutes.
“When we think about the convenience of this airport, it’s about its proximity to where people live, but also the speed with which people can move from their car to the gate that we think is going to be extremely attractive,” he said.
Councilmember Tom Osina raised questions about the new air traffic control tower planned for the southwest side of the airport. Airport Director Juan Rivera said the tower design is 70% complete and should be finished in January.
“Construction, we hope, depending on FAA funding, to hopefully get started sometime in early 2027, about the same time that the airline service will be cranking up,” Rivera said.
Construction of the tower is expected to take about 18 months once it begins. Rivera said the new facility will include a simulator to train air traffic controllers and support modern procedures.
“This is going to be a tower that is going to be lasting us into the future,” Rivera added. “It’s going to have a simulator in it so that the air traffic control folks can learn more about some of the newer air traffic controls. Controllers will be able to come to Manassas and actually utilize the simulator. So, a lot better than what we have now.”
The Manassas Regional Airport Commission is also considering changing the airport’s name after a request from one of its fixed-base operators. The commission discussed the proposal during its Nov. 20 meeting and agreed to explore the idea. Specific name recommendations have not been made.
The airport is also known as Harry P. Davis Field.
