Aviation View | Volume 2, Issue 3

13 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3 BAY C I TY REGIONAL A I RPORT hangars and new fuel trucks. I suppose all of that was taken into consideration and it was a big boost which pointed out that we are going in the right direction. In fact, it is not just the airport but all of Bay City that is just busting out thanks to Executive Director Jessica Russell and her team at the Bay City Economic Development Corporation. We currently have six new housing developments breaking ground in town.” Originally built in 1968, Bay City Regional Airport is located just five miles from the busy center of Bay City. The airport facility is comprised of the main box hangar, 55 T-hangars, a terminal with a pilot lounge and office space, a 5,107-foot runway running north/south, and a taxiway. The city operates as the FBO, providing complete fueling and maintenance services, and there are 48 general aviation aircraft that call this airport home. One of the main projects that was recently completed is a new $1 million hangar project. Mason feels that while COVID was partially responsible for an uptick in general aviation flying in the area, the expansion project did allow the airport to rent a more reasonable number of hangars. The next large infrastructure project will be a re-engineering design for the taxiway and drainage. This $7.5 million project will be largely about increasing the safety zone and allowing for larger aircraft. The project is slated to begin this summer and last for about 11 months. As for the terminal building, Mason admits, “Our terminal is in pretty good shape, we’ve done a lot of remodeling and updating, but it is not sufficient for what we are becoming. New terminal grants are being made available and we have put our names in for those grants. The size of the terminal is the problem, we are constantly being asked for office space and conference rooms and we have just run out of room.” Negotiations are currently underway with two companies who are thinking of relocating