Following last month’s notification from Dunkirk Aviation that it would be ceasing to do business at western New York’s Chautauqua County/Dunkirk Airport (DKK) at the end of October, the Chautauqua Region Economic Development Corporation has decided that it will manage the FBO until a new operator can be found. According to Chautauqua County airports manager Ronald Almeter, the county was able to retain Dunkirk’s staff to ensure continuity of service.

An RFP will be issued in November for the location, with a selection expected by the end of the year. “It’s in the county’s interest to competitively source a fixed-base operator, hopefully with the broad business portfolio that a modern FBO brings,” Almeter told AIN, “not just the flight line services, but flight school, charter services, aircraft lease and rentals, the sorts of things that we can’t deliver in a county-affiliated industrial development agency.”

The facility includes more than 230,000 sq ft of hangar space and a 2,200-sq-ft terminal with pilot lounge, snooze room, flight planning area and on-site car rental. The airport features a 6,000-foot main runway and sees approximately 30,000 operations a year.

Dunkirk Aviation is the lone aviation services provider at the airport. The family-owned company will continue to operate another FBO, along with an avionics shop, maintenance facility and aircraft brokerage at nearby Chautauqua County/Jamestown Airport.