This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
Manassas Regional Airport is one of six Virginia airports receiving new federal funding to support infrastructure improvements.
The funding – totaling more than $15 million across all six airports – comes through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement Program, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced in a July 11 news release.
“Investing in our airports is a crucial component of strengthening Virginia’s economy and keeping travelers safe,” Warner and Kaine said in the release.
The city of Manassas will receive over $1 million to rehabilitate 6,200 feet of runway at the Manassas Regional Airport.
The town of Leesburg is also receiving over $1 million to reconstruct 5,500 feet of existing pavement parallel to a taxiway at Leesburg Executive Airport.
“Leesburg Executive and Manassas Regional Airports are critical parts of our local economy, supporting jobs, innovation, investment, and connectivity,” Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, who represents Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, said in a release. “I was proud to support these projects because they will improve air safety and boost our regional economy at a time when air safety has become a major issue.”
The Manassas airport has embarked on a commercialization process, transforming the airport from strictly general aviation status to commercial.
Juan Rivera, the Manassas airport director, told InsideNoVa the new Federal Aviation Administration funding represents 90% of the cost of designing the rehabilitation of runway 16L-34R, which is reaching the end of its useful life of 20 years.
A structural analysis of the existing runway pavement indicated it is adequate to support the projected aircraft fleet mix over the next 10 years, Rivera said, meaning runway reconstruction is not required. However, the age and climate-related distresses on the runway made rehabilitation necessary. The recommended rehabilitation includes the milling of 2.75 to 4.3 inches of existing asphalt and replacing it with 5.75 to 7.3 inches of new asphalt, Rivera said.
Manassas airport passes inspection
Federal Aviation Administration representatives conducted a Part 139 inspection in late May, a key component in the process of commercializing the airport. Some of the items inspected include the Airport’s Certification Manual, tenant fuel trucks and the farm and the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting equipment and personnel, among other items.
Ultimately, Rivera said, while there were “some minor discrepancies,” the airport passed the inspection.
“Passing the FAA inspection was an important milestone and takes us closer to getting commercial airline service,” Rivera said.
The airport must now complete the ongoing environmental assessment prior to getting its Airport Operating Certificate.
Avports, a Dulles-based aviation management company, is the city airport’s primary partner on the project. Avports has managed the environmental assessment process on the airport’s behalf since the company finalized its contract with the city of Manassas.
If all goes according to plan, the Manassas airport could welcome commercial flights by the end of 2026, officials previously told InsideNoVa.
Currently, the airport sees 110,000 operations, or flights, annually, which will increase by 10-12% with the opening of commercial service. Once commercialization is finalized, there will initially be one to three scheduled flights per day, and that number “may be” up to 30 flights per day within 10 years.
