NEW YORK: Since its customs facility opened this summer, the county’s airport has welcomed direct flights from as far away as Stockholm, Sweden.
Built by the county in 1960, Cobb County International Airport-McCollum Field is a general aviation airport that caters to private and corporate aircraft, as opposed to a commercial airport like Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International.
Improvements over the next five years will focus on expanding the north tarmac and improving visibility as the airport positions itself to serve a growing economy and county, according to airport manager Karl Von Hagel.
The Airport Capital Improvement Plan, an annual planning document used by the Federal Aviation Administration and the state to plan resource distribution, was approved by the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday. The document, which prioritizes proposed improvements over the next six years, is for planning only and subject to change.
Notable projects include expanding the northern apron, or tarmac, by as much as 30 percent over the next few years to the tune of several million dollars.
Doing so would relieve congestion and bring the airport up to modern safety best practices, Von Hagel said.
“As things get rebuilt, as funding becomes available, things get improved,” he said.
The airport is planning about $700,000 of improvements in 2016. The airport carried out nearly $6 million in improvements in 2015. Improvements are largely funded by FAA grants supplemented by state money and revenue generated by the airport itself.
For 2016, airport management is also planning to install a $350,000 approach lighting system on the east end of the runway to help guide planes in during times of low visibility. They could eventually lengthen the runway by 200 feet, but at the moment that expansion is not justified, Von Hagel said.
