Washington Manassas Airport
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The Washington Manassas Airport Commission voted Oct. 15 to recommend that City Council award a roughly $29 million contract for a new air traffic control tower to Costello Construction, while also hearing calls from flight-school operators for better general aviation infrastructure on the west ramp and receiving briefings on a proposed airline incentive framework and Virginia Railway Express connections.
No specific airlines were named. At the commission’s Sept. 24 meeting, Airport Director Juan Rivera said he hoped the city’s commercial partner, Avports, would have at least one airline deal signed within three weeks. That window closed in mid-October without a public announcement. On Oct. 15, Avports representatives said they remain in talks with multiple carriers and are still targeting a November start for commercial service next year, but the airlines have asked that the discussions not be disclosed until the carriers are ready to make their own announcements.
Avports has started the first phase of terminal-area construction at Washington Manassas Airport, including a new passenger building and parking expansion, the Manassas Journal reports.
Staff recommends awarding Costello Construction a $29,314,862.50 contract for the replacement air traffic control tower. The Airport Commission is set to consider the recommendation Oct. 15. Passenger service remains expected by the end of 2027; no airline has been announced. Tower completion is projected for June 2029.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Rod Hall, chairman of the Washington Manassas Airport Commission and a former head of Legislative Affairs at the Federal Aviation Administration, submitted the commentary below. The views are the writer’s. Potomac Local has not independently confirmed every figure in the letter.
Aviation is often discussed in terms of destinations—where an aircraft is going and when it will arrive. But airports are much more than points of departure and arrival. They are economic-development engines that connect businesses to markets, attract investment, support high-quality jobs and strengthen surrounding communities.
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The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday issued Washington Manassas Airport its Part 139 Airport Operating Certificate, the last federal approval the field needed before it can host scheduled passenger airlines.
City and airport officials called it a historic step. It is not the start of commercial service.
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Washington Manassas Airport celebrated the ribbon cutting of its new Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) Station 41, a key step in strengthening emergency response capacity as the airport prepares for commercial passenger service.
The two-story, 4,596-square-foot facility includes a day room, dining room, full kitchen, training room, office space, and three apparatus bays for the airport’s ARFF vehicles. It is currently staffed daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is designed to improve the airport’s ability to protect tenants, operations, and future travelers.