Airport Takes Over FBO Duties

Authorities at the Columbus Regional Airport Authority in Ohio have voted to take over the aircraft service and maintenance operations at Rickenbacker International Airport after Lane Aviation allowed its lease to expire, citing lack of traffic at the airport. Lane Aviation had served the airport since 1995. The authority, which operates the former military base, had received approximately $150,000 a year from the lease and intended to increase the rent on the facility when Lane declined to renew. The airport authority hopes the newly renamed Rickenbacker Aviation Services will generate up to $300,000 a year. According to Airnav, general aviation activity at the airport last year accounted for approximately 20 percent of the traffic, which stood then at about 100 operations a day.