Pictured above from left are BRAA staff; Christine Landers (Office Manager) Robert Abbott (Finance Director) Richard Gurzo (Accounting Coordinator) Clara Bennett (Executive Director) Leonel Romero (Operations Intern), Hannah Naveda (Operations Coordinator) Travis Bryan (Operations Director) Katy Guerra (Accounting Intern).
The Boca Raton Airport Authority (BRAA) held a groundbreaking ceremony on July 9 to mark the start of the construction of the new Observation Area. The Observation Area will provide the public with the opportunity to experience aircraft up close and photograph planes without hindrance.
Pictured from left are: House Rep Peggy Gossett-Seidman, Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, Boca Raton Executive Director Clara Bennett, City Council Members Fran Nachlas and Marc Wigder.
The upcoming Observation Area will feature a modern, circular design with shaded seating for the public as they watch planes arrive and depart the airport. The observation area will be on a four-foot-tall platform with ADA-accessible concrete ramps and aluminum handrails. It will also have bicycle parking that can house eight bicycles and ample parking spaces for motor vehicles including accessible parking.
Additionally, the Observation Area will have several educational features incorporated into its design to help guide guests as they view a variety of aircraft. One exciting educational feature will be signage displaying background information on several aircraft housed at the airport. The observation area will also include an anemometer that will allow guests to observe the wind speed at the airport and a compass explaining different departure paths. These educational elements will hopefully create a fun experience for children and adults alike!
“The observation area will be a place where people of all ages can come and enjoy seeing planes take off at a close, safe distance,” said Boca Raton Airport Authority Executive Director Clara Bennett. “The Airport understands the importance of community and that is why we are excited to provide this area that will educate, inspire, and create memorable experiences.”
The Airport awarded the contract to build the Observation Area to Recreational Design & Construction, Inc. (RDC) in Fort Lauderdale. RDC was selected due to its impressive portfolio and 29 years of experience in the South Florida community. The Boca Raton Airport Authority looks forward to working with RDC to complete the Observation Area by the end of the year.
The World’s Best Awards are based on hundreds of thousands of surveys from Travel + Leisure readers ranking airports, hotels, resorts and other sectors that define standards of excellence in travel and hospitality. MSP’s ranking jumped to the top spot from fourth place in last year’s World’s Best Awards survey.
Airports were rated in multiple categories, including access, check-in and security, restaurants and bars, shopping, and design.
“The best accolades are those that come directly from customers and travelers, so it’s an honor for MSP to be recognized by Travel + Leisure readers for industry excellence,” said Brian Ryks, CEO of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which owns and operates MSP. “Our many partners across the airport community are focused on delivering best-in-class service, creating accessible facilities, offering a refreshing mix of shops and restaurants, and — most of all — providing exceptional airport experiences for our travelers.”
MSP served nearly 35 million passengers in 2023 and is the second largest hub for Delta Air Lines, as well as the hometown base for Sun Country Airlines. Travel + Leisure wrote that MSP manages the flow of passengers well.
“This is, by far, my favorite airport in the country. It’s easy to figure out, easy to get around, and there are a lot of interesting shops and decent restaurants,” wrote one Travel + Leisure voter.
The 2024 World’s Best Awards are featured in the August 2024 issue of Travel + Leisure.
MSP is the 19th busiest commercial airport in North America. Earlier this year, MSP won top global and large airport awards in Cirium’s 2023 On-Time Performance Review. Airports Council International (ACI) also named MSP as the best airport in North America in 2023 through its global passenger survey program, in the 25-40 million passenger category. That recognition marked the third straight year — and seventh out of the last eight years — that MSP received the Airport Service Quality program title.
During May, 843,270 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers. This was an increase of 11 percent compared to May 2023. It was also the second-best May reported in the 41-year history of the airport. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is up 21 percent.
The traffic leader in May was Delta with 192,204 passengers. Rounding out the top five airlines were Southwest (150,279), American (146,034), United (133,218) and JetBlue (71,519).
Southwest Florida International Airport had 6,945 aircraft operations; a decrease of 0.2 percent compared to May 2023. Page Field saw 16,861 operations, which was a 13 percent decrease compared to May 2023.
Southwest Florida International Airport served more than 10 million passengers in 2023 and is one of the top 50 U.S. airports for passenger traffic. No ad valorem (property) taxes are used for airport operation or construction. For more information, visit flylcpa.com or facebook.com/flyRSW.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Jorg Neumann, Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator at Microsoft to talk about all the latest excitement surrounding Microsoft Flight Simulator. This includes an accurate and highly detailed model of Washington D.C. for simmers to fly over thanks to the latest photogrammetry technology. This arrives in the latest City Update IX: Northeast United States which covers a large portion of the Washington D.C metro area, along with Buffalo, New York; Allentown, Pennsylvania; and the East End of Long Island, New York.
City Update IX: Northeast United States Trailer
One of Microsoft’s partners for Microsoft Flight Simulator is Vexcel Imaging which uses its aerial cameras for photogrammetry and allows the Microsoft Flight Simulator team to convert that imagery data into highly accurate models. While speaking with Jorg, he mentioned how Vexcel and its evolving camera technology plays a critical part in providing these detailed city updates to Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Vexcel is currently using newer and enhanced cameras that have 3 times the increased resolution for capturing terrain. The old data would cause some buildings to look “melted” and have a loss of detail when getting an up-close look, but now this is no longer the case with the latest cameras. Jorg knows that the world needs to continue to look much better moving forward as players explore further and land everywhere. With the evolution of camera technology, it’s only going to get better. This will enhance the experience for both Microsoft Flight Simulator and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.
The continuous improvement in camera technology and how that enhances the experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator is very exciting for all of us simmers out there. City updates are only going to get more impressive from here on out. The nice thing is that this will also include cities that were captured using older camera technology. This means some of the most popular cities will get a fresh new coat of paint in the future! So, continue to keep an eye out for the latest city and world updates moving forward!
For the latest city update, which was captured using the newest cameras from Vexcel, Jorg wanted to work on the Northeast United States. The team selected cities they haven’t captured previously, bringing realism to Buffalo, Allentown, the Hamptons, and the massive Washington D.C. metro area. Capturing Washington D.C. has been an ongoing discussion for nearly four years due to the highly restricted airspace that requires communicating with Federal agencies to get approval. The other challenge was due to sun placement and needing to make sure they can capture the terrain at a specific time of day so there are limited shadows being cast by buildings and trees. It was a yearly discussion before finally getting approval earlier this year and now we can all now enjoy flying around the entire Washington D.C. metro area in such glorious detail! If only I could have easily flown around the area when I lived there so I could have avoided driving on the 495 and 270. I don’t miss you at all…
By the way, it’s amazing how quickly production can move as the Vexcel team just captured the Washington D.C. terrain in April and the Microsoft Flight Simulator team converted the data and shipped it in just over 2 months’ time. Nicely done!
Another fun feature now available in Microsoft Flight Simulator as part of the update is fireworks! With the 4th of July just two days away, every major US city will experience a fireworks show in the sim. So, if you are flying in real time, make sure to be near a major city at 10pm local time to start witnessing a beautiful fireworks show!
If you’re like me and have other plans on the 4th, you can always set the time and date to whenever you want to fly so you can enjoy the fireworks on your own timeline. I told Jorg I would have to do that since my wife has plans for us that day. However, he did suggest that my wife and I just have our date in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Talk about a fantastic idea, right? I asked my wife if we should do that instead of our original plans and that’s when my plane got rerouted to the doghouse – thanks, Jorg! (joking, of course!! Kinda…)
The City Update IX: Northeast United States is now available for free for all simmers on Xbox Series X|S and PC with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Windows 10/11, Steam, and Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta).
More to come on my talk with Jorg Neumann. Thank you again to Jorg for taking the time to chat with me and to Bob and Hollis for your support with making this happen.
The American Association of Airport Executives’ (AAAE) Airport Consortium on Transformation (ACT) has released broad research that examines the concept of an Airport Digital Marketplace, aimed at enhancing stakeholder engagement and driving revenue growth through digital transformation.
The objectives of an Airport Digital Marketplace are to personalize and simplify passenger journeys; modernize processes; boost revenue; and streamline operations. The Digital Marketplace integrates retail and dining, enables service provider collaboration, bolsters data analytics, and offers targeted advertising.
ACT collaborated with Schneider Electric, San Antonio International Airport, and industry experts to identify opportunities to for new digital solutions and develop strategies for implementation in the report.
“Establishing an airport information exchange datahub delivers transformative benefits to the aviation industry,” said Kyle Herbig, Vice President, Airport Solutions, at AAAE. “This digital marketplace concept can revolutionize airport interactions by enhancing efficiency, improving customer experience, and unlocking new revenue streams. AAAE is committed to leading these initiatives.”
“Our goal with the Airport Digital Marketplace is to revolutionize how airports interact with passengers, airlines, and retailers,” added Thomas Bartlett, C.M., Deputy Director of Airports at San Antonio International Airport. “This initiative will allow airports to leverage data analytics for better decision-making and offer tailored services that meet the evolving needs of passengers.”
“Digitization plays a pivotal role in transforming the airport ecosystem, enhancing operational efficiency and passenger experience,” said Kieran McLoughlin, Vice President, Digital Solutions, at Schneider Electric. “We are proud to contribute our expertise and thought leadership to the latest AAAE white paper, outlining the significant impact of digital solutions in shaping the future of airports worldwide.” For more information about the Airport Digital Marketplace or to access the White Paper, visit this webpage.
Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) has announced the selection of Tina Kinsey, A.A.E. as the organization’s new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).
Kinsey currently serves as Asheville Regional Airport’s Vice President – Marketing, PR and Air Service and leads a team of nine members. Through her servant leadership approach, strategic mindset, and communication with key stakeholders, Kinsey has brought both operational and administrative successes to AVL during her 14-year career at the airport. Prior to her work with AVL, Kinsey held the positions of Vice President – Business Development and Director of Marketing for Transylvania Regional Hospital (Brevard, NC). During her career in healthcare, she honed critical skills in strategic planning, business development, public relations and customer service which will serve her well in her new role.
Kinsey is an industry professional with 14 years of airport leadership experience and during her career has developed and led a wide variety of initiatives that support the mission and vision of Asheville Regional Airport. She has a Master’s in Speech Communication from Colorado State University as well as a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication and Business Administration from Berry College, GA. Kinsey is also an accredited member of the American Association of Airports Executives (A.A.E.).
Regarding her new appointment, Kinsey stated, “The last fourteen years at AVL have been the joy of my career, and I am excited to enter this next phase of the journey as we continue to build the airport of our region’s future. Airport management is complex, challenging and rewarding, and I am genuinely looking forward to this leadership opportunity, and to continue to make positive impacts with one of the best professional teams in the industry.”
“I am thrilled to provide pathways for current team members to promote upward,” said Lew Bleiweis, President and CEO of the Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority. “Tina has proven her abilities during her tenure with the organization, and I look forward to working with Tina in her new role as Chief Administrative Officer”.
The Tucson Airport Authority (TAA) announced that TAA President/CEO Danette Bewley and the Tucson International Airport (TUS) have been awarded the prestigious Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Safety Award for the Western Pacific Region.
Earlier this month at the FAA Annual Airports Conference in Los Angeles, Bewley was named the winner of this prestigious award that speaks to the progress TUS has made in achieving its highest goal of being an industry leader in airport safety. Bewley says, “The tireless efforts of many talented TAA employees, who continue to shepherd this complex program, has been remarkable as we invest over $400 million dollars in our airport infrastructure to ensure TUS is at the forefront of airfield safety.”
The award recognizes an airport’s contribution to safety, improvements and fosters efficient operations. President/CEO Danette Bewley was honored to receive the FAA’s Annual Safety Award for TUS. During the award recognition, Brian Armstrong, FAA “President/CEO Danette Bewley was chosen because of her leadership and focused approach to safety, project management and grant management, as the TAA executes the complex Airfield Safety Enhancement Program (ASE).”
ASE is a safety and standards project at TUS that improves airfield geometry through relocation and replacement of a parallel runway and a myriad of infrastructure improvements that support commercial, general aviation and military operations. The project has been under construction for over 4 years, with approximately 4 years of work left before the airfield improvements are complete. Recently, the TAA and the Arizona Air National Guard (AANG) recognized the milestone of the completed arm/de-arm pad and end-around taxiway. “On behalf of the TAA Board, we are proud of the FAA recognition, and are pleased with the progress the TAA has made to ensure airfield safety. We look forward to when this complex infrastructure project is complete,” said Keri Silvyn, Chair TAA Board of Directors.
These project elements, considered enabling projects, allow the AANG to continue their important mission and provide the flexibility to realign access/egress for operators while construction on the parallel runway continues.
As operator of TUS, the TAA is committed to providing a sustainable airport system and to constantly pursue initiatives that promote and grow business opportunities, while ensuring safety and security are the utmost top priority.
The terminal expansion, which increased the size of the facility by 20%, was part of a multi-faceted master plan designed to strengthen the airport’s long-term appeal and functionality for airlines and passengers alike. This initial phase includes the addition of one boarding gate, two aircraft passenger boarding bridges, a larger TSA security screening checkpoint area, new restrooms and an area for service animals.
“As we celebrate the completion of this initial phase, we envision more than just a completed project; we see a gateway to new opportunities for our community. This expansion is not merely about adding square footage; it’s about enhancing connectivity, fostering economic growth, and elevating the travel experience for all who pass through our doors,” said Airport Director Andrew Shorter.
“The Airport Authority extends its deepest gratitude to our partners at the local, state, and federal levels who have contributed to the success of this project. From architects to construction crews, from engineers to airport staff, and every other stakeholder involved, your dedication and expertise have brought this vision to fruition. Together, we’ve built more than just structures; we’ve built bridges that connect our community to the world,” said Airport Authority Chairman Tyler Harris.
“As we embark on this new chapter, we are committed to serving our passengers and advancing our shared goals. We hope this expanded terminal will serve as a testament to our collective spirit of innovation and collaboration, ensuring that EWN remains a beacon of progress and prosperity for generations to come,” said Jeff Wood, Executive Director of Craven 100 Alliance.
The remaining portions of the expansion project including covered access from the Short-Term Parking into the terminal, many new energy efficient enhancements throughout are schedule for completion by the end of the year.
The Sedona-Oak Creek Airport Authority (SOCAA) has announced that the Sedona Airport through its Fixed Base Operator (FBO), Red Rock Aviation, received its first load of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on the 5th of June and will begin sales of jet fuel that includes a blend of that fuel.
SAF is a blended jet fuel that is refined partly from fossil fuels and partly from renewable animal and plant sources. The blended end-product meets the same FAA standards required for storage and performance of fossil-fuel derived jet fuel. Because of this, the blended SAF can be mixed with regular jet fuel in ground storage tanks, airport fuel trucks, and aircraft fuel tanks requiring no additional jet fuel infrastructure or procedures.
Sedona will receive SAF as a blend of 70% fossil-fuel refined jet fuel and 30% neat SAF. Avfuel, headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has supplied Sedona Airport’s Red Rock Aviation since 2022. At the moment, Long Beach, California is the nearest source of the SAF. Regional Avfuel Sales Representative Don Leffler was on hand for Sedona’s first delivery of Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Sedona will receive a truckload of SAF about once every two months, equating to approximately once every tenth delivery of jet fuel.
Airport Manager Ed Rose stated: “We are excited to incorporate SAF to our growing list of sustainability initiatives. SAF is a safe, proven, and sustainable blend of jet fuel that will help the Sedona Airport be a good neighbor and do its part to reduce the overall production of greenhouse gases.”
A major milestone for a new terminal at the Key West International Airport was completed Wednesday, June 5 at a “Topping Off” ceremony attended by Monroe County Commissioners, Key West International Airport executives and staff along with consultants, McFarland Johnson and Mead & Hunt, representing the design teams. A symbolic steel plaque, signed by key team members will serve as permanent art in the new Concourse A to commemorate the project’s milestone.
The 48,802 square-foot structure, scheduled to open in Spring 2025, is the largest capital project in Monroe County government history. The Concourse A addition will usher in a new way of travel as the days of walking the airport’s apron will end. “It takes major collaborative effort to pull a project like Concourse A together, and witnessing it come to life has been a thrill,” said Mayor Holly Raschein. “Not only is it a symbol of our commitment to growth and innovation – it is a major part of our diligence in maintaining the Florida Keys as a first-class travel destination. I commend the team involved in bringing the project to where it is today, and I look forward to its success as a transportation hub for many years to come,” Raschein added.
McFarland Johnson is the lead consultant providing planning, programming, engineering design and permitting services for Key West Airport’s terminal expansion. “We are excited and honored to be part of this generational project for Monroe County that will drive economic growth and deliver an improved customer experience at Key West International Airport,” said John Mafera, Vice President and Regional Director of Aviation for McFarland Johnson.
Passenger traffic surpassed 1.4 million in 2023 and 2024 is off to a record start for the airport serving the Keys with direct service to 21 cities across the U.S. “The Topping Off Ceremony is a celebration of Key West International Airport reaching new heights,” noted Richard Strickland, Key West International Airport Director. “Years of planning have culminated in this moment, and this milestone would not be possible without the dedication of countless individuals. With the help of our design teams from McFarland Johnson and Mead & Hunt, we are building on a legacy, and I could not be more optimistic about the future of travel and the countless passengers Concourse A will serve.”
Concourse A Project Details:
48,802-foot, single-story concrete structure supported by piers to align with the second story of the existing airport terminal
Boasting eight glass jet bridges, Concourse A will include space for gates, hold rooms, circulation, new concessions, restrooms, expanded TSA lines, state-of-the-art baggage carousels and support areas
New extended passenger bridge located post-security will connect existing landside terminal building with new Concourse A
New concourse will remain above storm surge and flood elevations
New concourse is designed to withstand 200 mph winds
