Kansas City Downtown Airport Set to Get Third FBO

The Kansas City Aviation Department has awarded a lease for the final 20 acres of available, developable land at Kansas City Downtown Airport-Wheeler Field (KMKC) to Airside Innovation Missouri, which will build an FBO on the plot, making it the third full-service provider on the field.

A joint venture between industry consultancy Airside FBO and developer Eastside Innovation, the company will invest $55 million in the FBO complex. The facility will be operated by Kansas City-based Apex Aero Center, a chain of four locations headed by Airside FBO founder Kyle Eiserer, who has decades of experience at KMKC, starting with the former Hangar 10 FBO, which was later acquired by Atlantic Aviation.

The new facility will feature a 15,000-square-foot terminal and more than 150,000 square feet of hangar and office space. It will also host an expansion of the Red Tail Academy, a nonprofit organization focused on educating and mentoring underrepresented youth in aviation.

“Our experience and success at this airport and several other operations around the region, along with the great service we provide aviators and the strong relationships we maintain with our airport partners and leaders, is a testament to our selection for this exciting new project,” said Eiserer.

He expects to break ground on the project next year with the intention to open the newest Apex Aero facility in early to mid-2027.