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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Greenwood Board of Aviation Commissioners is reassuming management of the city’s airport, less than a year after it appointed a private company to handle daily operations.
Board President Jeffrey A. Colvin said in a Tuesday press release that the board has released Indy Jet Center Greenwood, which had managed the airport since January, effective Nov. 25.
Indy Jet Center Greenwood employees will be offered jobs at the Greenwood Airport or at the company’s affiliate locations in Indianapolis, Colvin said. Indy Jet Center Greenwood is an affiliate of Eagle Creek Aviation, which has managed the Eagle Creek Airpark since 1986.
The board’s decision to release the company from its contract to operate the airport follows several complaints from pilots upset by changes instituted by Indy Jet Center Greenwood. Many have begun to go to Shelbyville and other airports to buy fuel, and some have even considered moving their planes, the Associated Press reported earlier this month.
The dissatisfaction comes as the airport has been struggling because both recreational pilots and business travelers have been cutting back on flying. Airport revenue is expected to fall short of the $300,000 it costs to run the facility next year, so the board overseeing the facility plans to raise rates.
A drop in airport use has delayed its planned relocation, Colvin said in the release. Commissioners want to move the 230-acre airport, west of Emerson Avenue and south of County Line Road, to lengthen the runway and expand space for planes.
The board signed a five-year contract with Indy Jet Center Greenwood last December.
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