Feb. 5, 2020
Florida’s Naples Airport (APF) began operating as a military airfield in 1943, and has since transformed into a vibrant business aviation airfield. APF ranks in the Top 20 nationally in terms of business airplane activity with more than 33,000 jet operations annually, according to Christopher Rozansky, Naples Airport Authority executive director, and generates $440 million in economic activity in the region.
To promote the airport, APF officials recently produced a fast-paced, time-lapse video titled “A Day at Naples Airport”, to highlight how busy the airport can be during the winter months – with resulting economic and other benefits.
“We were looking for new ways to communicate the value of business aviation and its economic impact on the Naples community,” said Rozansky. “It’s sometimes hard for folks who aren’t familiar with business aviation to understand just how busy APF is from Thanksgiving through Easter. We use the video in public speaking engagements and within the industry to highlight the activity and complexity of the airport.”
To assemble the video, airport staff worked with a producer to mount cameras on the FBO roof, a tug, at the edge of an apron and a runway and inside the terminal. The camera captured activity for 12 hours on the airport’s single-busiest day of the year, Dec. 26, and the footage was edited down to just about a minute.
It’s not uncommon for there to be more than 100 transient aircraft parked on the ramp on a typical winter weekend.
“In terms of operations, about 85,000 of the airport’s 112,000 annual total takeoffs and landings are by itinerant aircraft, and we estimate that more than 150,000 visitors arrive in Naples each year through APF,” said Rozansky.