ASPEN – — Setting aside 80,000 square feet for a new Aspen-Pitkin County Airport terminal doesn’t mean a building of that size will be constructed, but the county will have less say about accommodating a second, and even a third, fixed-base operator at the airport.
That was the gist of a lengthy discussion Tuesday about an updated master plan for the airport. County commissioners quizzed John Bauer, manager of the Denver Airports District Office for the Federal Aviation Administration, about the county’s obligations when it comes to future development at the airport and to what extent the county can say “no.”
When it comes to fixed-base operations — private businesses that offer aircraft services and sell fuel — commissioners will have little choice but to make space for a second one, or even a third, if adequate physical space and market demand exist, Bauer said. That would be the case under the existing airport master plan, as well, he said.
Interest among various parties in establishing a competing fixed-base operation at the airport, where Atlantic Aviation is currently the sole such operator, is driving a master-plan process that is setting aside space for various future facilities, including fixed-base operators, a larger terminal and a proposed parking garage.
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