R.A. Wiedemann & Associates, Inc., was selected to perform an Airport Business Plan for Decatur Airport in 2009. Decatur Airport is designated an Essential Air Service (EAS) airport, which means that the Airport can receive federal subsidy for the support of scheduled commercial airline service. While some level of air service has been in place at Decatur between 1995 and 2009, passenger activity has seen a significant decline in recent years.
The Business Plan sets forth options for improvements in a number of key areas: the existing scheduled air service and passengers volumes and the potential for reaching 10,000 annual enplanements to qualify for $1 million in entitlement funding from the FAA, the expansion of corporate aviation activities, improved surface access, the attraction of a full service FBO, the attraction of non-aeronautical development, and the identification of the Airport’s service niche and greater market awareness.