Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey Mullan and Christopher Willenborg, (pictured) Ad
ministrator for the MassDOT Aeronautics Division visited Northampton Airport this week as part of an ongoing effort to visit all of the commonwealth’s 39 privately owned airports.
Northampton Airport is a privately-owned public use airport in Western Massachusetts. "The owners and airport manager gave us a presentation about the airport and the economic impacts the airport brings to the region," said Willenborg.
Following the presentation, Secretary Mullan and Willenborg toured various facilities including their flight school and
aircraft maintenance shop. "It was a positive experience for Secretary Mullan since he was able to see firsthand how the state’s investment into the airport stimulates economic development on the airport and the surrounding community," said Willenborg.
Renovations were made to the airport last summer, including an expanded ramp, two new hangars and installation of solar panels on the roof of the airport’s community hangar. The state Department of Transportation paid for about 80 percent of the renovation’s cost. The expanded ramp added more parking space for airplanes and repaired a taxiway that’s almost 50 years old. The two new hangars each can hold up to five aircraft.
