Across rural Minnesota, airports are essential community assets that drive our local economies, provide safety nets in times of emergency, and bring us together. Let’s take a closer look at the important role of general aviation airports in rural Minnesota cities.
Rural General Aviation airports help to drive economic development which benefits residents, business owners and their employees. Economic benefits include:
- Regional Competitive Advantage: An airport can give a community a competitive advantage when business developers and potential employers are looking to expand. Local manufacturers and businesses can also benefit from being able to move goods quickly with a nearby airport.
- Employment of Fixed-Base Operators (FBO): An FBO is a business owner that is granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport. They provide valuable aeronautical services such as fueling, aircraft storage services, aircraft maintenance and other services. FBO’s and other aeronautical businesses can provide employment opportunities to residents.
- Provide Base for Aerial Agricultural Services: Aerial aircraft operators and farmers in Minnesota often treat their crops with aerial applications to keep their crops healthy. General Aviation airports across the state provide fast and easy access for crop spraying needs.
- Tourism & Recreational Aviation: When airports are close to home, it allows those who fly their own planes to easily access other destinations for business or pleasure, which positively affects the economy. Local Fly-Ins at airports across the state bring pilots and communities together for breakfast and family fun.
- Learn more about the economic impact of local airports with this whitepaper, “From Runways to Revenue: Economic Benefits of your Local Airport.”
Airports help to keep us safe and provide vital emergency services to remote areas. Here are some ways that airports can improve quality of life:
- Lifesaving Medical Services: Emergency medical services and air ambulances can provide people in remote cities with medical evacuation quickly. People who are critically ill or injured can get specialized medical treatment or organ transplants when not available locally.
- Firefighting: Emergency response to local wildfires can be handled faster when there is a nearby airport.
- Law Enforcement Services: Airplanes and helicopters are used by Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies to search, transport criminals, protect borders, and provide aerial security.
Bollig partners with General Aviation airports to assist in successful funding, design, and construction management for airport facilities. We understand the needs of airports and the many benefits that they bring to their communities. Our aviation specialists are familiar with all the documentation and standard requirements needed for the design and construction of rural airports in Minnesota.
We encourage you to learn more about the airports around your community. If you want to learn more about Bollig’s airport planning and design services and how they are customized for rural airports, contact us online or via 320-235-2555 today!
Photos Featured include the hangar at Pride of the Prairie Airport in Elbow Lake, the Arrival/Departure Building at Brooten Municipal Airport , and a plane from the Hector Municipal Airport Fly-In.
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