Sloulin Field International Airport—which has been serving Williston, North Dakota, since 1947—and its FBO, Signature Flight Support, are scheduled to close on October 10 simultaneously with the opening of Williston Basin International Airport (XWA) and a new FBO there. Sloulin is being decommissioned because it faces expansion constraints, design issues, a significant increase in air traffic, and the need for runway refurbishment.
Williston Basin has been under construction since October 2016 and will initially open with 7,500-foot-by-150-foot Runway 14/32. So-called “stub outs” will be included to accommodate the future 4,500-by-75-foot crosswind Runway 4/22. The airport is located about 10 miles northwest of Williston, slightly farther away from the city than Sloulin.
At XWA, general and business aviation will be served by Overland Aviation. Although this is the first full-service FBO for Overland, the company has been operating a facility at Sloulin, providing flight training, scenic flights, and aerial photography since 2011.
Overland Aviation’s new 51,000-sq-ft facility at XWA will include an executive passenger terminal and crew lounge, a private terminal for oil-laborer crew change flights, and management and rental office spaces. According to Overland’s founder and president Tanner Overland, “Our heated hangar will be capable of storing large aircraft up to a Gulfstream G650.” Also located within the Overland Aviation facility will be a U.S. Customs general aviation facility.