The future look of the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport is coming into view. Pitkin County commissioners gave initial approval last week to Atlantic Aviation’s renovation plans for the airport’s private aircraft facilities, which prioritize electrification and soundproofing.
Fixed-base operator Atlantic Aviation signed a billion-dollar, 30-year lease in 2024 to service general aviation and administer refueling at the airport. In it, Atlantic is required to invest at least $105 million into sustainable, LEED-certified capital improvements. They also have to eventually build out facilities on the west side of the airport to serve local pilots and their aircraft.
One of the biggest changes will include updates to the flow of aircraft traffic, allowing pilots to use a different ramp off the main runway that requires less taxi time. The new plans would also shift the location of Atlantic’s primary building, which houses its administrative offices and a lounge, just to the west. The current building and its proposed replacement are both about 7,500 square feet.
The shift opens up space in their leasehold and allows landing aircraft to exit the runway earlier, which should translate to shorter wait times for taxiing aircraft.
“We also want that smooth flow of traffic that eliminates long run times on the ramp and creates the flow that's needed … to run the airport,” said Jonathan Jones, general manager of the Aspen FBO, at a Nov. 18 county meeting. “It's shorter coming in. It's shorter going out. The taxi times are reduced dramatically in that respect.”
Brandon Leindl, senior director of construction and management for Atlantic, said the planned 100,000 square feet of snowmelt infrastructure beneath ground surfaces will be powered by renewable energy.
It will focus on “high touchpoint areas” to minimize ice and snow where staff and travelers are walking.
To mitigate excessive aircraft noise in nearby neighborhoods, Atlantic has also planned an 18- to 20-foot sound wall between Highway 82 and the airport, partially screened by a landscape berm.
They also plan to construct an electric vertical take-off and landing pad in anticipation of that technology.
Atlantic has scheduled much of the work to take place during the airport’s scheduled 9-month closure in 2027 when the airport plans to reconstruct the runway and address subsurface water issues.
Until the runway is reconstructed and Atlantic begins work on the west side facility development, local pilots leasing aircraft hangars or shelters with Pitkin County will not see any changes.
“Right now, all those patio shelters and the tie downs are there, and everything stays as is,” Jones said.
The Pitkin County commissioners unanimously approved Atlantic’s plans last week
, but the plans will be subject to further public meetings throughout the multiyear redevelopment process.
