Garmin Opening Flight Test, Cert Facility in Mesa

Garmin has purchased a hangar and office complex at Arizona’s Mesa Gateway Airport (KIWA) and will use the facility to expand its flight-test and certification activities. Two adjacent hangars span 75,000 sq ft, and the office space will accommodate 75 employees.

The Mesa facility joins Garmin’s other airport-based flight operations centers in New Century, Kansas, and Salem, Oregon. In the Phoenix area, Garmin has operated an engineering hub for 25 years, starting in Tempe and then moving to Chandler. Garmin’s acquisition of AeroData in 2019 added more space in Scottsdale. The sunny Phoenix weather and KIWA’s three long runways and infrastructure “provides an ideal flight operations setting,” according to Garmin.

“We are excited to add another aviation facility to our business,” said Phil Straub, Garmin executive v-p and managing director of aviation. “The capabilities this location will provide are instrumental in extending aircraft airworthiness approvals and market coverage for our product lines. This expansion represents Garmin’s continued investment in infrastructure that supports growth and innovation in our aviation business segment.”