Travelers in the Washington DC area may soon have a fourth option for scheduled commercial flights. Virginia’s busiest general aviation gateway, Manassas Regional Airport (HEF), is undergoing a redevelopment worth up to $125 million to welcome flights from low-cost and point-to-point carriers.

92 years and counting

Also known as Harry P. Davis Field, Manassas Regional Airport is a general aviation airport serving the National Capitol region. It is located five miles southwest of the City of Manassas (which owns the airport) and 28 miles from Washington, DC. Former Manassas Mayor Harry P. Davis (for whom the current airport was named) approved the original airport in 1930, and a landing strip was built along Route 234, where the Manaport Shopping Center stands today.

Manassas Regional Airport officially opened on June 8th, 1932, serving a town of just over 1,200 people. Today, Manassas is home to around 42,700 people, according to the US Census Bureau, and the Civil War-era Manassas National Battlefield Park.

The airport expanded beyond its initial lot and was moved to its current location in the 1960s. When it was dedicated on September 20th, 1964, the new airfield featured a single 3,700’ x 100’ paved runway, a rotating beacon, parking facilities, a maintenance hangar, an office, and a dedicated airport manager.

The first carrier to serve Manassas Regional Airport was a local company, Colgan Airlines, which offered flights from 1971 until 1986. The airline operated a fleet of small turboprop aircraft to destinations including nearby Washington Dulles (IAD) and Poughkeepsie’s Hudson Valley Regional Airport (POU) in New York.

A new terminal building was opened in 1996 as talks of a new Disney theme park were floated for a location just 12 miles from the airport. However, plans for the park were eventually abandoned. A second parallel runway was constructed in 1997 and extended in 2012 to its current length of 6,200 feet.

Today, Mannasas is the largest general aviation airport in the Commonwealth of Virginia, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The airport sees 110,000 general aviation takeoffs and landings annually and hosts private, law enforcement, military, and medivac aircraft, along with several flight schools.

Manassas is also designated as a reliever airport for Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Ronald Regan Washington National Airport (DCA), both in Virginia.

The Renaissance begins

Local officials and residents have been trying to bring nonstop flights back to Manassas for over 30 years. Simple Flying first reported Manassas was looking to add commercial flights in 2023 when the Manassas City Council endorsed a resolution approving the 40-year lease agreement between the Manassas Regional Airport and airport development company Avports to run up to 10 flights per day out of Manassas.

The deal will see Avports construct a terminal with 4-6 gates to serve local airline passengers and take full responsibility for operating and maintaining the parking facilities, terminal, and ramp areas. The franchise agreement with the City of Manassas further ensures that taxpayers will not pay a dime toward the renovation of the airport, with Mayor Michelle Davis-Younger telling the Prince William Times at the time:

“Change is hard, but it can be done.

“This city is moving forward. This city is growing. People are coming here by the droves. Businesses want to move here. We have to be ready for it.”

While the proposal will not result in any additional cargo services, Avports estimates the conversion will create hundreds of airport jobs and generate over $40 million in annual tax revenue from new economic development.

Avports, formerly known as Pan World Services, was founded in 1927 as a division of Pan American Airways. It invests in, develops, manages, and operates a range of airports, heliports, NASA facilities, and spaceports across the nation. The majority of the company’s airports are on the East Coast, including four in New York; Albany (ALB), New York Stewart (SFW), Teterboro (TEB), and Westchester (HPN). Avport’s most recent major project was the redevelopment of Tweed New Haven Airport (HPN).

What work needs to be done?

Several things are already in place to help enable the airport to welcome the return of scheduled commercial service. Much of the required airfield infrastructure, like an instrument landing system, is already in place, and the 6,700-foot runway can handle a variety of jet aircraft.

From a passenger perspective, Avports is aiming for a 7 minute curb-to-gate experience, a tactic that has worked well for secondary airports like London Southend that have large catchment areas surrounding cities with congested airports.

The airport is conveniently located close to Interstate 66, which connects the Washington DC area to Northern Virginia and beyond. For public transit options, the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter train station in Broad Run on the Manassas Line connects the airport to Alexandria in just under an hour and Washington DC’s Union Station in 79 minutes.

The airport already has a Hertz Car Rental on site at the northwest corner, and officials have confirmed that rideshare companies are eager to serve the airport. Speaking exclusively to Simple Flying, Matt Shelby, The Chief Development Officer at Avports, highlighted how the airport is already well on the way to achieving the required certifications:

“The thing about Manassas, in addition to it’s great geographical proximity, is they largely were already managing to commercial standards.

“There is a certification process that an airport needs to go through as it transitions from general aviation to commercial; it’s called Part 139 certification.

“Luckily for us, Manassas was largely already managing to those standards. So it only needed a few sort of critical improvements that weren’t at that level.”

In the initial phase, which will last two to three years, Avports will build a 25,000-square-foot terminal building adjacent to the existing structure that will feature four boarding gates. The existing 18,000-foot building will continue to serve general aviation customers but will be linked to the new facility in the project’s second phase. Ultimately, Avports is looking to build a 10-15,000 square foot addition on the far side of the terminal to allow the expanded facility to grow as needed.

According to Shelby, the airport is prime for a lounge. The company has already spoken to several lounge providers who are “pretty excited” about the possibility of the airport allocating space for a lounge as it grows. The airport already has a popular outdoor aircraft viewing area.

In the meantime, the company is waiting for the FAA’s final Finding of No Significant Impact on the building plans to begin construction. When reached for this piece by Simple Flying, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration outlined the next steps in the airport’s certification process:

“The FAA is working with the airport to complete the Environmental Assessment as quickly as possible.

“If a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is issued, and the airport has met all requirements under Part 139, a final inspection will be conducted.

“Following a successful inspection and the FAA’s approval of the Airport Certification Manual, the FAA will issue an Airport Operating Certificate.”

Should the airport receive approval for its building plans and obtain Part 139 Certification in the coming months, Shelby expressed confidence that flights could be operating by the end of the year:

“If we get those approvals back, I think the odds are very high that we’ll have flights by Christmas.”

Avports is currently working with the Transportation Security Administration ( TSA ) to federalize the facility, obtain the screening equipment, and allocate transportation security officers to work there. US Customer and Border Patrol CBP already serve the airport on an appointment basis for international private flights.

Which airlines will fly to Manassas?

According to multiple sources, several carriers have expressed interest in serving Manassas Regional Airport. The main runway at Manassas, 16L/34R, is long enough to accommodate narrowbody jets, including the Embraer E190 and Airbus A220.

Given the proximity of Manassas to hubs for several legacy carriers, the airport’s sweet spot lies with point-to-point airlines that connect cities directly instead of through a larger hub. Speaking to the Washington Post, Terry L. Clower, The Director of George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis, said the additional option will directly support the local community:

“What we find is that having a variety of air transportation options is good for making a region more attractive.”

One of the ways Avport and the local government are looking to attract carriers is by keeping costs low for the airlines, with the goal of charging airlines less than $10 per enplanement. Shelby declined to confirm specifics when pressed on which airlines were considering launching flights to Manassas, but he outlined the type of airline the community can expect:

“Any of those carriers that are sort of nontraditional in their approach, that are not going to necessarily follow the hub and spoke model, I think may find Manassas attractive”

Airport developer Avports has most recently worked with two airlines on reviving Tweed New Haven Airport. In 2021, the year American Airlines ceased the airport’s only scheduled service, Avports arranged a similar agreement to manage New Haven and build a 4-gate terminal.

In the years since, the airport has grown to welcome nonstop flights to over 30 destinations (including Washington Dulles) with Avelo Airlines. When reached for comment, an Avelo Airlines spokesperson said the carrier’s current focus was on its services out of Dulles and Baltimore/Washington International (BWI), but that Avelo would “never rule out the possibility” of serving Manassas.

Another airline that recently worked with Avports is Breeze Airways . The airline’s entry to Tweed New Haven became the first time in more than 20 years that the Southern Connecticut airport had seen service from more than one airline. Speaking exclusively to Simple Flying in January, Breeze Airways Chief Commercial Officer Lukas Johnson noted Washington, DC, is a traditionally expensive area to get in and out of and confirmed the carrier’s new services to nearby Dulles had proved popular with customers.

Both airlines have contributed significantly to New Haven’s resurgence. Airport officials expect to serve more than 1.2 million passengers this year and offer direct service to almost 40 destinations this summer.

Another carrier with a strong presence in the Northeast is JetBlue . The airline is reorienting as part of its “Jet Forward” strategy to focus on more destinations along the East Coast following the end of its Northeast Alliance with American Airlines. Much like Breeze and Avelo, JetBlue has shown no aversion to serving the same city with multiple gateways, having introduced flights from New York’s Long Island MacArthur Airport at the end of 2024.

Last November, JetBlue joined two low-cost carriers in disputing the US Department of Transportation to award five slots at Washington Reagan Airport. Spirit Airlines had applied for slots to California’s San José Mineta International Airport (SJC) while Frontier was attempting to serve San Juan (SJU) in Puerto Rico. When asked if the carrier was considering launching flights to Manassas, a Frontier Airlines spokesperson declined to speculate on potential future services.

The availability of slots at Manassas is likely to come as welcome news to Allegiant Air , which only serves the DC area with twice-weekly flights to two destinations in Florida. According to Shelby, Florida is one of the largest underserved destinations for area residents:

“Most of the airline partners that we’ve talked with today, they see a lot of North-South flying.

“I think in the early days, it’s probably going to be mostly leisure traffic, and the primary destinations are in Florida.”

Speaking to Simple Flying this week, an Allegiant Air spokesperson declined to comment on future growth and network expansion to Manassas for “competitive reasons.“

Another option for the airport is commuter airlines. With five destinations from nearby Dulles, Southern Airways Express is a popular choice for area residents, while Contour Airlines serves Shenandoah Valley Airport (SHD) near Staunton, Virginia.

Foreign airlines looking for an affordable entry point to the capital of the United States could also be looking at Manassas Airport as an option. Canada’s Porter Airlines flies from Dulles to Toronto City (YTZ), while carriers like Flair Airlines have been expanding significantly to smaller US airports.