2023-07-31 21:00:55
With more than 100,000 flights a year, Manassas Regional Airport is one of the busiest general-use airports in the region. AvPort, the company responsible for managing this airport, plans to triple the size of its terminal and expand its services to add commercial flights.
This expansion will cost around $125 million and, once complete, will add up to 30 commercial flights a day. Airport administrators say this expansion will be “a paradigm shift for the Prince William region.”
“This is going to be a once-in-a-generation change,” said Ross Snare, the chairman of the Manassas Regional Airport commission.
Snare assures that this expansion will serve as a complement to Dulles International Airport and Reagan National Airport, which only a month ago faced major delays in their service.
“We are not building a new Dulles in Manassas,” Snare clarified. “That’s something I want to make very clear to people, there will only be four to six doors at full capacity.”
Some Manassas residents spoke about their expectations about how this addiction could bring an economic boost to the city. “I hope this new step brings jobs to our city and makes us more visible to the eye of the region,” said Cheryl Macias, who currently lives in Manassas.
However, this enthusiasm is not shared by all who live in the city. Some residents worry about the noise that increased air traffic will bring, especially to neighborhoods near the airport.
“I can’t imagine the noise that 30 extra flights a day will bring,” said Lyle Sebranek, another city resident.
And it is that this expansion is not yet a fact, since the Federal Aviation Administration has yet to evaluate the sound and environmental impact that this addition could bring to the area before finally approving the project.
Snare is quite optimistic about this evaluation process and believes that this new addition could bring more affordable flights to the south for states like Florida, and bring more efficiency to air traffic in the region in general.
“We are planning for the drive from the airport entrance to the gate to take around seven minutes,” said Snare, who expects this expansion to take place by 2025 and take Manassas to new heights.
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