for an airport that already handles over 122,000 annual operations. “Next year is going to be a very busy year in the city of Philadelphia,” Brewer explains.“It’s the 250th anniversary of the country. Philadelphia is the birthplace. So that’s just going to be a huge event going on in and around July 4th next year. The MLB Major League Baseball All-Star game is going to be held in Philadelphia.There’s going to be a PGA event held right outside the city.” International events will also be featured.“Some of the FIFA World Cup games will be in Philadelphia next year as well,” Brewer notes. The airport experienced a preview during this year’s TRUIST Championship golf tournament. “We have had a really busy week this week with a lot of aircraft flying in and out with the golfers coming in.That TRUIST championship is just outside the city. It’s a very short drive from here.” Military commemorations will also drive traffic.“This October is the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps and Navy. So, there’s going to be a week-long event with different flyovers and ships in and around Philadelphia. We may get some of the traffic from that, some of the military traffic. We’re hoping to have some of them land here at the airport.” Current airport capacity exceeds demand, positioning the facility well for increased activity without requiring major operational changes. TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF AVIATION PROFESSIONALS Northeast Philadelphia Airport is a regional hub for aviation education, with four active flight schools generating significant training activity that contributes to the facility’s status as Pennsylvania’s third busiest airport. The training sector represents a dramatic shift from previous decades when pilot education was less prominent at the facility. “Those four flight schools stay very busy,” Brewer reports. “Legacy Aviation is so busy to the point where they have an order for 10 new aircraft that they hope to get delivered this year. Each year, these last few years, we just keep going up in terms of operations. Last year we did a little over 122,000 operations.The previous year was just over 114,000. A lot of that is flight schools.” Aviation maintenance training fills a critical industry gap through the Aviation Institute of Maintenance, which operates programs across eight airport locations nationally. “They have about a 46% graduation rate, which for vocational schools I’m told is quite high. And they have about a 98% placement of those people that do graduate to finish the program,” Brewer explains.“At any one time they have over a hundred people in their program.” Community outreach covers Philadelphia’s public 72 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 05, ISSUE 02
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