DeKalb County Airport to reopen extended runway
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DeKalb County Airport officials will cut the ribbon Friday morning on an extension of its now 7,100-foot runway.
Sweet Aviation, which operates the regional airport, closed the runway in July for construction. The project added 2,105 feet to the runway which formerly stretched 5,000 feet.
DeKalb County Airport officials say the extension allows all aircraft in the general aviation corporate fleet to fly into the airport. The project also added new runway and taxiway lights, as well as new paint and signage.
“Whenever we can put more runway in front of an aircraft, we give the crew more time to think and react, and this will always lead to better outcomes,” DeKalb County Airport Manager Russ Couchman said in a news release. “At 7,105 feet, the DeKalb County Airport is now in an elite class of Regional Corporate Class Airports.”
The ribbon cutting comes almost a year after Sweet Aviation took over management of the airport in November 2022. The company continued supplying pilots, including air ambulance teams with Parkview Samaritan, with fuel throughout the airport’s summer runway closure.
Sweet Aviation has plans to begin operating a new self-service fuel station by mid-October and add two new refueler trucks to the DeKalb County Airport by late November.
Officials say the northeast Indiana airport generates $16 million for the state’s economy annually. The amount is expected to grow with the reopening of DeKalb’s extended runway.
“We look forward to supporting both our general aviation and business class customers as we become an even greater economic engine in the region,” said Couchman. “Thank you to all of our customers for hanging in there with us through this construction process.”