New Naples airport would take 15-20 years to open if decision made to move it. What to know
Will the Naples airport move?
A new Naples airport would take 15-20 years to come to fruition from the time a decision to move the current Naples Airport is made.
Whether a move from East Naples to East Collier – the only area with enough land – is feasible and where it might go are questions a study will answer. There's no guarantee the airport will be moved, ever, something airport officials want their customers, neighbors and the rest of Collier County to understand.
“Talking about relocating or just developing a new airport is a very complex, multidimensional issue,” Dave DiCarlo of Environmental Science Associates (ESA) told the Naples Airport Authority's Board of Commissioners in January.
It's not like the airport can grow outward: it is boxed in by development and preserve land.
Covering one square mile in East Naples, the airport is just west of Airport-Pulling Road. Residential homes run all along North Road beside the airport and along Davis Boulevard, on the other side of Airport-Pulling Road. Fifth Avenue South is less than a 10-minute drive west of the airport. The 140-acre Gordon River Greenway is just north and east of the airport and 15-acre Baker Park is just west – with a running, walking and biking path around the perimeter of the airport.
Planes come and go one after another all days most days, especially during tourist season. So much so, there's an observation deck on North Road, and the airport authority has plans for a remodel and update with a park and room for food trucks.
"There are people complaining about the noise over their heads," City Councilwoman Beth Petrunoff said in a phone interview in February. "I know the whole city feels like the noise is a big deal."
Petrunoff, who is the city council liaison to the airport, said the city council is "in lockstep" with the airport authority and thinks the study is a good idea. The Naples Airport Authority has an existing lease with the City of Naples through 2068.
"There is an explosion of growth in Collier County and is this where we want it to be," she asked. "On a personal level, I think it’s a very real likelihood the airport will move."
In June, airport authority commissioners approved a contract with ESA to conduct an Airport Exploratory Study. That contract came after Naples City Council asked the airport authority to look at a possible move following a $2 million noise study. In January, the Airport Authority board was given an update on the outline of the study. In April and May, the public is planned to be consulted. By June, study documents are expected to be presented.
But it's a long way from study documents to a new airport.
"We think it could be roughly 15-20 years from making the decision to build one to having a new operational airport," DiCarlo told the board.
Why is the study being conducted?
Noise complaints and growth constraints at the airport are behind the study.Since its start as a military airfield in 1943, the Naples Airport and the community around it have grown significantly.When Naples became a city in 1949 it had fewer than 1,000 residents. Today, there are more than 20,000 in the city limits and 419,500 in Collier County. U.S. News named Naples in the top 10 fastest growing places in the U.S.
Naples has grown up right next to the airport, which means there is nowhere else to grow, Naples Airport Authority Executive Director Chris Rozansky said in an interview in October when discussing the need for an exploratory study.
"We’re never going to grow in footprint any bigger than we are today," Rozansky said. "And we’re very constrained and we have a lot of demand, tremendous demand for hangar development and aeronautical business. We have a waiting list of 100 potential customers who we currently cannot accommodate."
Rozansky, who has been at the Naples Airport for eight years, was named Aviation Professional of the Year for 2023 by the Florida Department of Transportation.
On 732 acres, the airport served more than 200,000 passengers in 2023 and serviced 119,075 annual operations –takeoffs and landings. It was the 13th busiest U.S. airport for private jet flights in 2022, according to Private Jet Card Comparisons, citing data from Argus TraqPak. By comparison, the closest commercial airport – Southwest Florida International Airport – in Fort Myers served more than 10 million passengers in 2023 and saw 87,685 total operations.
Home to 360 aircraft, with a significant increase during seasonal months, Naples Airport had 122,281 takeoffs and landings in 2003, about the same as Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers, though RSW saw significantly more passengers with its commercial traffic.
Known as the runway of the rich and famous, Naples Airport caters to owned and chartered aircraft and their passengers – from jets that can come and go to Europe to prop planes taken on short trips.
Who is flying in and out?
Could be anyone. Naples is home to seven billionaires, according to Forbes 2023 list. Judge Judy has a plane at the Naples Airport. Billionaire and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett; the CEO of Best Buy; former NFL players Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long; and actor Tom Cruise have been known to use the airport.
It's not just for the wealthy: medical flights, mosquito control and the Collier County Sheriff's Department fly out of the airport.
Most who fly live or own homes here. Of the more than 100,000 takeoffs and landings and more than 200,000 passengers served last year, Rozansky said, "we have surveyed these folks and nearly 80 percent are homeowners here in Naples and Collier County."
"Yes, there is some tourism, but the vast majority are invested in this community. They of course are very important stakeholders," he said. "It’s incredibly convenient for people who use the airport."
The airport is an important economic driver too, with an impact of $781 million in Fiscal Year 2023, up from $440 million reported in 2020, according to annual Florida Statewide Aviation Economic Impact Studies. Naples airport doesn’t accept any tax dollars from the City of Naples, and it has no authority to tax. It is self-sufficient, running the airport from its own operations with a $49 million operations and capital budget in FY23.
In addition to the planes' comings and goings, Naples Airport offers fuel and fixed-based operator services such as hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance and other services. Naples is one of 520 towered airports in the U.S., according to the FAA. It is administered by the FAA and staffed by contractor Robinson Aviation.
With those 100,000 airport operations come noise; noise that affects more and more people in Naples as the population grows. Despite knowing they are moving near an airport, complaints still come in. Demands that the airport be moved or closed are made to the airport authority and the city council.
Noise abatement measures
The Airport Authority has many abatement measures in place and plans for more.
A voluntary curfew between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. for pilots and planes – voluntary because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) doesn't allow mandatory curfews. Violators are called out and compliers are celebrated at the airport. Signs and social media remind visitors of quiet hours. Even Naples Airport socks given in swag bags and for sale include a reminder of the hours.
In 2023, airport clients had a 98.7% compliance rate, according to the authority's annual report.
The noisiest classifications of jet aircraft are banned. No fuel service is allowed between 9:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., though self-service fueling is allowed anytime. There are preferred helicopter routes for arriving and departing helicopters over major roadways, away from residential areas.
This year, the airport authority has started deploying noise monitors in both public and private locations and is offering them to residents who want monitors set up at their homes or businesses.
Out of the 2019 Airport Noise Compatibility Study came noise abatement initiatives outlined in a report sent to the FAA in August that detail the airport's noise and the impact it has on the surrounding community. The airport authority received initial comments from the FAA in January, which it responded to, Zac Burch told The Naples Daily News. One of the authority's proposals was that it would conduct the airport move study.
What the study will and won't do
The study has three objectives:
Document the projected Collier County growth and aviation needs over the next 50 years. Long-term outlook for Collier County that includes Demographics and Land Use Q Demand for General Aviation and Commercial Service Activity Q Airport Constraints
New airport requirements: Define the general elements for a new airport site to establish the minimum acreage required
Key factors for consideration: Document the critical elements and overall timeframe.
What the study won't do is recommend whether the airport should be moved; recommend a location; or include any alternative analysis, consultants told airport officials.
If airport commissioners decide to move forward with the idea of moving the airport, there will be three primary phases: initial planning phase, advanced planning with environmental, then acquisition and construction.
It sounds simple, but it's not. FAA regulators will get involved and need to give approvals. Environmental and conservation studies will be required. Land acquisitions will need to be made.
Even after choosing a favorite site, Naples Airport Authority wouldn't be able to just start buying land. It would need to prove to the FAA that it's the best site of any sites and that no other airport in the region could offer the services a new airport could. The FAA would conduct an airspace study, as well.
"The acquisition is one of the more challenging aspects of the process in terms of timeline," ESA's DiCarlo said.
Where is there land in Collier County?
Everyone agrees an airport would have to go east because there's not enough vacant land anywhere else in the county. ESA showed a land designation map without discussing specific properties.
What's at stake
Conservationists are concerned the airport authority might target Picayune Strand State Forest, which has 74,138 acres of protected land and is the fourth largest state forest in Florida.
Airport businesses and clients worry they'll lose their pristine location in the center of Naples. Will that mean that the money brought into the airport won't be spent in Naples?
Among the businesses operating at the Naples Airport are six rental car companies; flight schools, charter companies and specialty private aircraft companies that offer everything from transportation and food service, hangar rental, event space and more. These companies include Aviation Advisor, Elite Jets, Flex Jet, Jet 1, Naples Jet Center and Northern Jet Management. Other businesses on site are Paradise Coast Property Team, aircraft detailers, and a pilot shop.
More: Naples Airport has lasted 80 years at the same spot: What to know about the airfield
More: Naples Airport Authority to study move to east Collier County
Nonprofits and government agencies also use space at the airport. Angel Flight, which coordinates free flights for organ transplant candidates, chemotherapy, clinical trials and more, and Humane Society Naples are among the agencies on site. Humane Society leases a parcel off Airport Pulling Road, which serves as the main shelter for all of Collier County and includes a fully equipped veterinary clinic.
Also on site are Civil Air Patrol, which runs flying clubs; Naples Museum of Military History; and public services including Collier County MedFlight; Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting (ARFF)/City of Naples Fire Station No. 3, Collier County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit and Collier Mosquito Control District and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which provides services for international flights Naples.
The airport authority has contractual obligations with tenants through 2053. It has state and federal obligations currently through 2042.
The businesses and the airport bring people to Naples who live here, spend money here, and are philanthropic. It also serves as a place for emergency services, pointed out Bruce Byerly, president of Naples Jet Center, during the Elite Jets event.
"It's something to celebrate," said Byerly, who is a pilot and so is his 18-year-old daughter. Byerly also served on the Naples Airport Authority Noise Compatibility Committee for several years.
"This airport is an integral and valuable part of this community. And it needs to continue to be an integral and valuable part of this community right here," said Berne Barton, who won a seat on the Naples City Council in the March 19 election – a recount on March 23 confirmed his victory. Barton was attending a private event in February held by tenant Elite Jets celebrating the 80th anniversary of the airport and serving as a platform for three political candidates.
"Is that the highest and best use of this property economically for this economic engine," Petrunoff said. She suggested the property could be great for a trauma center hospital or a cancer center to serve the community. Or should it remain "amenities for a select few?"
These are topics for the community, the airport authority and the City Council to consider, Petrunoff said.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples airport moving? Here's what to know and what's at stake
