Dec. 15, 2015
Recognizing that two existing airports with short runways were unable to adequately meet the needs of business aviation, community leaders in Sioux County, IA recently announced that work has begun on the new Sioux County Regional Airport, which is scheduled to open in 2018.
“This project represents an important initiative by Orange City and Sioux Center to partner with the Sioux County Board to create a regional airport,” said NBAA Midwest Regional Representative Bob Quinn. “It has the potential to help economic development of the region by providing runway accommodation for the vast majority of business aircraft, even during most winter conditions. It should be a game changer for businesses that will benefit from business aircraft usage.”
The new Sioux County Airport’s 5,500-foot-long and 100-foot-wide runway will replace the 3,800-foot-long runway at Sioux Center and Orange City’s 4,250-foot-long runway, both of which are also narrower. Officials from those two cities joined with country officials to form the Sioux County Regional Airport Agency Board.
The board chair, Harold Schiebout, told the Sioux City Journal that the communities in Sioux County will be more attractive to businesses, thanks to the new airport. The new airport will safely accommodate the larger business aircraft used by companies in Sioux Center and Orange City.
In addition to better serving area businesses already utilizing business aviation – and helping to recruit new ones – the new Sioux Center Airport will provide businesses that use the existing airports, such as aerial applicators and charter operators, with new facilities and room to expand.