The Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission has announced a naming ceremony and 60th-anniversary celebration as they become the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics.
The event will take place on November 16th, 2023, at 2 p.m. on the Fourth Floor Rotunda of the Oklahoma State Capitol with a reception to follow.
The agency will continue to provide the citizens of Oklahoma and beyond with expanded programs in airport infrastructure, aerospace business development and workforce, aviation and aerospace education, and aero safety.
The new name takes effect on November 1st. Through Senate Bill 782, during the 2023 session under the leadership of Senator Paul Rosino of the Senate and Speaker Pro Tempore Kyle Hilbert of the House, the 59th Oklahoma Legislature has created a new name to reflect the expansion of the aerospace and aeronautical industry in the State of Oklahoma. The new banner will provide the opportunity to show consumers and constituents that the agency is modernizing, rebranding, and looking forward to a successful future.
The agency has led the way in advocating for the aerospace and aviation industry in Oklahoma since 1946 and has experienced name changes in the past (previously as the Aviation Commission in 1946 before becoming the Aeronautics Commission in 1963). The commitment to improving airport infrastructure to attract new businesses and operations, administering nationally recognized aerospace education programs, and enhancing the overall industry has been notable across the country. Renaming the agency as a “Department” will provide Oklahoma’s leaders an opportunity to showcase to the nation and around the globe that they intend to maintain their leadership status in this industry by doing everything they can as a state to continue the growth trajectory of aerospace and aeronautics.
HISTORY OF THE AGENCY
Referred to as “the land of fertility and progress,” Oklahoma entered into statehood on November 16, 1907, becoming the country’s 46th state. Three years after statehood, Oklahomans witnessed the first mechanically powered flight over the state. Oklahoma has a rich aviation and aerospace history. The Commission was created in 1963 by the Oklahoma Legislature to advance, foster, and assist in the development of aeronautics in Oklahoma, including current and future aircraft, and to encourage the establishment and maintenance of public airports.
As the successor to the Oklahoma Aviation Commission, the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission’s mission is to promote aviation and aerospace, this includes ensuring the needs of commerce and communities across the state are met by the Oklahoma Airport System and ensuring the viability of our aviation and aerospace industry, our state’s second largest industry.
Oklahoma’s aviation and aerospace industry provides nearly 206,000 jobs and an $11.7 billion payroll. The industry generates an impressive $44 billion in annual economic activity. Almost 90% of the more than 400 companies that comprise the industry are in the business of maintaining, repairing and overhauling (MRO) aircraft. With respect to MRO, Oklahoma has one of the highest concentrations of skilled aviation workers and aircraft repair facilities in the world.
Oklahoma is 1 of the 7 centers in the world for the MRO of aircraft. This bodes well for Oklahoma because of the forecast for the tremendous growth of the MRO sector of the aerospace industry due to the aging fleet in all segments of aviation (military, commercial and general/business) and the doubling of the worldwide commercial fleet over the next 15 years. We have an opportunity to be the MRO Center of the World. Oklahoma has 108 public airports in its State Airport System.
