Georgia’s Macon-Bibb County has taken over the operation of the lone FBO at Middle Georgia Regional Airport (KMCN) after buying out the remainder of the facility’s lease from Lowe Aviation, which has operated it for more than three-quarters of a century. Lowe will continue to operate its aircraft charter and rental business from KMCN.
The 7,000-sq-ft general aviation terminal—built in 1980—features a passenger lounge; eight-seat, a/v-equipped conference room; pilot lounge with flight planning area; and crew cars. The airport also has more than 170,000 sq ft of hangar space that can accommodate ultra-long-range business jets.
Concurrent with its arrival as an aviation service provider, the county unveiled a plan to replace the current FBO—now renamed High Note Aviation—with a new $12 million facility that will pay homage to Macon’s claim as the birthplace of Southern rock. “High Note Aviation speaks to the level of service that we want to provide and the feeling we want people to have when they leave—that they’ve left on a high note,” county aviation director Doug Faour explained to AIN. “We had an opportunity to construct a facility and in an effort to capture our musical heritage, to incorporate that into the FBO.”
At more than twice the size of the existing terminal, the new structure will resemble a giant guitar from the air and a piano keyboard from the ground. According to Faour, construction will begin in second-quarter 2024, starting with the demolition of the existing terminal, and completion is slated for late 2025. FBO operations in the interim will be relocated to either the airport’s commercial terminal or a now-vacant 80,000-sq-ft building that previously served as ASA Airline's maintenance facility.
KMCN, which is home to approximately a dozen jets, has a 6,500-foot main runway. In January, construction began on a long-anticipated $30 million runway expansion project that will add 600 feet and an EMAS system to Runway 5/23, lengthening it to 7,100 feet by early 2025.
Also on tap for the field is an FAA-sponsored project to demolish and replace its current control tower.