Sheltair Aviation has announced its newest upcoming FBO location at Gwinnett County Airport northeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Gwinnett County selected Sheltair in a competitive process based upon a comprehensive $17 million investment program to improve and expand the existing facilities was proposed by the company. The Sheltair network's latest FBO addition will be its second operation in Georgia after Sheltair begins serving Gwinnett County Airport customers, effective April 2, 2023.
Sheltair's newest location was awarded by Gwinnett County earlier this month. The family-owned company will hold a 40-year lease on the property, where it plans to improve and expand hangar and office spaces. Gwinnett County Airport is also Georgia's third busiest airport, with 119,000 takeoffs and landings in 2022, a suited challenge for a well-established company like Sheltair. The existing FBO facilities currently operated by Gwinnett Aero will be transitioning to Sheltair.
"The Airport Authority and Gwinnett County have expressed their goals to improve the level of service and aesthetics of the properties at the airport, and we heard them loud and clear," said Milo Zonka, Vice President of Real Estate for Sheltair. "This is an important move for Sheltair into the Atlanta metro area, and a large investment commitment to redevelop the significant facilities already onsite—almost 220,000 square feet of hangars—and design and construction of a new FBO and restaurant/office facility will commence shortly."
In its proposal, Sheltair claimed that the Gwinnett airport is underused in its marketing strategy. The business intends to market Gwinnett County Airport/Briscoe Field as a general aviation business flight destination by leveraging the county's increasing bioscience, technology, and manufacturing industries.
"Airports across the country are reckoning with aging facilities that can still be of service, but they need this partnership and private investment to make it happen," said Zonka. "We embrace this true public-private partnership that makes it a win-win-win for the airport owner, the users, and Sheltair."
The Holland family has been building its communities for nearly 60 years, connecting general aviation traffic with high-demand business, tech, leisure, and economic development destinations. Today, Sheltair aims to offer customers an additional destination in the Southeastern United States while bringing its award-winning service standards to the users of the Gwinnett County Airport. Sheltair LZU will provide first-rate customer service and ground support made possible by the company's core values and mission of Family First: Fuel, Build, Serve.
"We're really excited," said Matthew Smith, the county's airport director. "We think this will give us a gateway to the community, which is what we should be and what we hope we will be."
