The Canandaigua Airport

THE CANANDA IGUA A I RPORT address our markets and focus on serving a specific customer base. The Canandaigua Airport hopes to be known for quality of services and amenities offered to a gamut of aviators.” To keep pace with progress, Mincer says the Airport is constructing a new equipment building to store and maintain its snow removal and mowing equipment, and is beginning the process of designing a new terminal building, as well as partnering with a local developer to build private jet hangars. Future plans also include an annex to the terminal, a space which could be easily modified to accommodate a restaurant and meeting rooms, available to the public for a variety of events. “We are encouraging the community to come to the Airport. Our business plan is modeled on a hotel experience rather than a bus station- -it’s not just a place to travel through, but a destination for travelers and the community alike,” Mincer explains. “Moving forward, the Airport is being accepted as a community asset; it is routinely incorporated in regional long-term planning. For example, the town is working on expanding its walking trail system to reach the Airport. Municipal plans complement the Airport’s development. We are working together to help grow the Airport’s place in the community.” Planning and development is happening all over the region. There are currently two new lakefront hotel and conference centers under construction in Canandaigua. “The Airport is ideally suited to bring travelers to and from these facilities, as well as provide a use point for breakout meetings,” says Mincer. “Within the next five years, this Airport will look entirely different; just in time for the 2024 full solar eclipse, when we anticipate an influx of aircraft visiting to witness the event.” It’s possible that Mincer’s future model for the Canandaigua Airport as a community resource is based on his own experiences before taking on the job of Airport Manager. After working as an inspector and mechanic for Delta Airlines in Georgia, Mincer returned home in 1998 to work as the facilities manager for a nearby manufacturing company. In his spare time, he kept his hand in aviation by inspecting, maintaining, and flying small fixed wing aircraft from a small turf airfield about 15 miles to the south of Canandaigua, owned by his parents. “It’s a small grass strip lying at the bottom of Middlesex Valley,” Mincer reports. “Mom and Dad are retired now, but they created something special. Every weekend in the summer season, they served breakfast. It would not be uncommon to have 50 or 60 aircraft fly in, creating a unique opportunity for pilots to socialize with residents and vacationers. As manager of the Canandaigua Airport, I see an opportunity to bring this same sense of community engagement to even more people.” Another way in which Mincer hopes to serve the pictured Airport Manager, Bob Mincer’s dog Fergus greeting customers