The Oak Ridge, Tenn., City Airport, to be built on remediated land transferred from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site, could still run a deficit in its fifth year of operation, according to a recent analysis from an aviation consulting firm in Kentucky.
Financial performance in the fifth year, when the general aviation airport is likely to be fully operational, could range from a deficit of $118,000 to being $64,000 in the black, according to R.A. Wiedemann & Associates. The airport would be located on reclaimed land on the site of the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant formerly known as K-25.
Wiedemann did a preliminary financial analysis and technical report for the City of Oak Ridge, and said a plausible scenario would have revenue for year five reaching $498,000 against expenses of $616,000.
Oak Ridge officials are planning a general aviation airport with a 5,000-foot runway that will serve the Greater Knoxville metro area with a population of 850,000. The new airfield will only be located 19 miles from Knoxville, Wiedemann said. The firm compared the Oak Ridge project to airports with similar runways and various available aircraft, hangers and services in localities such as Baton Rouge, La.; Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Harrisburg, Pa.; and the suburbs of Nashville, Tenn., as well as two in suburbs of Charleston, S.C.
The top performers of the bunch have a net revenue of between $200,000 and $420,000. One was basically breaking even and two in South Carolina showed deficits between $120,000 and $180,000.
“This proforma was developed without the benefit of a comprehensive business plan” that would typically evaluate current and future demand as well as financial options for a “fixed base operator” to run the airport, according to Wiedemann.
The Wiedemann report, discussed at a Jan. 30 Oak Ridge Council work session, said just because the airport itself might operate at a deficit, does not mean it won’t provide economic benefit to the community around the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex. Having an airport to support business aviation “increases Oak Ridge’s ability to compete for economic development with other cities.”
Oak Ridge hopes to start operation of the airport in 2025.
