Beta Technologies has installed an electric aircraft charging station at Atlantic Aviation’s FBO at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (KBAF) in Westfield, Massachusetts. 

According to Beta, the charging facilities at KBAF include an airside Level 3 DC fast charger for electric aircraft and ground vehicles, plus a ground-side Level 2 charger for public use. Beta, Atlantic, and KBAF officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the airport on December 18 to celebrate their commissioning.

Vermont-based Beta manufactures both electric aircraft and chargers. To support the introduction of electric airplanes and eVTOL aircraft, the company has been building a network of charging stations at airports across the U.S. Beta already has 38 charging sites online in the U.S., with another 50 sites in the development and permitting stages.

Atlantic Aviation, which operates at more than 100 locations in North America, partnered with Beta last year to begin rolling out chargers at its FBOs. KBAF marks Atlantic’s sixth location to receive a Beta charger and its second in the state of Massachusetts, following Marshfield Municipal Airport (KGHG) in eastern Massachusetts. 

“At Atlantic, we are focused on expanding our capacity to provide technology-agnostic aviation infrastructure across North America, and we're committed to growing our position as an innovative leader in the market,” said Atlantic Aviation vice-president of sustainability Eric Newman. “The addition of the Beta Charge Cube at our Westfield-Barnes facility provides a safe, customer-centric location for electric aircraft operations while enabling new, community-focused transportation opportunities.”

Atlantic Aviation is also collaborating with other manufacturers of electric aircraft and charging infrastructure, including Joby and Archer, to prepare its FBO network for the launch of electric air taxi services. In addition to Beta’s chargers, which conform to the internationally recognized CCS standard for electric vehicles, Atlantic is also acquiring chargers from Joby Aviation, which is pursuing a new standard with its own global electric aviation charging system, or GEACS. Atlantic plans to install both types of chargers at the East 34th Street Heliport in New York City.