Braden Airpark.JPG
A company has expressed interest in operating Braden Airpark (pictured) and Queen City Airport.
(Express-Times File Photo)
The future of Braden Airpark and Queen City Airport remains undetermined, but a company has expressed an interest in operating them.
The Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority last month sought proposals from parties interested in providing fixed-base operating services at the two small airports.
They sought the proposals as a possible alternative to selling Braden Airpark, a Forks Township airport they have discussed selling to raise funds for $16 million the authority owes in court fees.
The deadline for proposals was today and one company submitted an application, according to Charles Everett, the airport authority's executive director.
He declined to identify the company or how much it offered. The proposal will be discussed during an authority committee meeting 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
The meeting will be held in the third-floor board room of Lehigh Valley International Airport at 3311 Airport Road in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.
An open house tour of the airports was scheduled for June 23 for interested parties, but none attended, which originally raised questions over whether any proposals would be submitted, Everett said.
Fixed-base operator services typically include the handling of fueling, ground operations and aircraft servicing.
Moyer Aviation used to provide such services for Braden Airpark, but stopped in spring 2013. The company previously paid the authority $55,000 a year to operate Braden.
Airport officials previously said several developers have shown an interest in Braden Airpark. In April, Everett said Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University was interested in using, but not purchasing, the airport.
Save Braden Airpark, a group of local pilots, has also expressed interest in leasing the site and has opposed any sale that would result in a closure of the airport.
At least five companies have expressed an interest in developing land at Queen City Airport in Allentown, including Fegley's Brew Works, which has proposed a microbrewery with limited dining.
Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski has also proposed buying the land for $1 million to continue using it as a streets department maintenance facility, and Industrial Developments International expressed interest in building about 1 million square feet of warehouses on the parcel.
Contact Allentown reporter Colin McEvoy at 484-894-2549 or cmcevoy@express-times.com.