Business View Magazine | June 2019

189 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JUNE 2019 L INCOLN A I RPORT summer, predominantly on our west ramp, but also on some of the adjacent facilities, many of which are former Lincoln Air Force base facilities. The commercial passenger growth, the industrial park efforts, the thriving of the FBOs, and the arrival of Offutt certainly have our focus today, but each year brings an entire array of new and exciting challenges and opportunities.” All of these ongoing and prospective projects will need to be funded in various ways. “The terminal project will probably be a bonded project due to a lack of sizable fiscal eligibility elsewhere,” Haring explains. “The improvements on the west ramp are being 100-percent funded by the Air Force, as a result of their need for them. The runway projects that we’re working on, or will be working on in the upcoming years, are funded 90 percent through the FAA’s AIP program, and there are some parts of the GA growth that are eligible for federal funding. Industrial park improvements will likely be funded through the entity developing each tract, though there may be opportunities for the Airport to participate in those developments if it makes sense to do so. The Airport has an extensive list of capital needs that are not eligible for any grant resources, including roadways, pavement, parking areas, etc. Ultimately, our ability to fund any of those projects locally will rely on continuing to identify new sources of revenue and appropriate prioritization of all capital needs.” Going forward, Haring is particularly bullish on the growth of the GA sector at the Airport. “General aviation in Lincoln is truly thriving,” he states. “It’s unusual to come into an airport and have one FBO experiencing this exponential growth; it’s incredibly unusual to have four. Duncan Aviation is obviously the cornerstone of all of the growth that has taken place over the last 5-8 years in our general aviation sector. Their globally known reputation of excellence and significant investment in facilities at the Airport continue to position Lincoln at the heart of the General Aviation industry. However, our FBO/SASO growth is not only limited to Duncan. Silverhawk Aviation, really the primary, traditional FBO at LNK, has also experienced significant growth as evidenced by their recent construction of a new, 28,000 square feet hangar facility, upscale renovations