A 54,000ft2 general aviation parking ramp has been unveiled on the north side of South Bend International Airport, Indiana. The US$1.5m concrete ramp, funded by South Bend’s Redevelopment Commission, which is owned and operated by the St Joseph County Airport Authority, was opened with a formal ceremony involving the cutting of a ribbon attached between two private jets.
South Bend is Indianapolis’s third busiest airport, and its new ramp is leased and operated by Corporate Wings, which has been based there since December 2015. The project included the installation of lighting and a storm and sewage draining system, and was actually part of a deal with the airport authority to incentivize Corporate Wings’ move to South Bend in addition to it revitalizing a former DHL facility to use as its own.
Randall Jones, president and general manager of Corporate Wings, said that the ramp will enable the company to provide parking for small and large jets, adding that the concrete is 15 inches deep. The Corporate Wings facility is one of two FBOs at South Bend, along with Atlantic Aviation.
Mike Daigle, the airport’s executive director, said, “We want the operators to compete and bring additional jobs. This airport is an economic engine, and businesses don’t locate where corporate jet service isn’t great.”
