Project manager outlines Plymouth Airport Expansion and Readiness Plan, warns runway limits cap growth

Project manager Cartik Mahashwari of InFocus presented a status update on the Plymouth Airport Expansion and Readiness Plan, describing the discovery-phase work, regional benchmarking, and the path to a phased design and implementation. He told the redevelopment commission the project is organized into strategic planning, engineering/design (led by Wilpert), and phased implementation, and said discovery is nearly complete with design to begin within about a month.

Cartik summarized the airport's current condition: "Our runway currently is about 4,400 ft in length, which is good for a general aviation purposes airport, but it's kind of a limiting factor for airport's growth," and he noted hangar occupancy is at 100% with a six-person waiting list. He also said fuel sales have grown substantially since 2017 (Jet fuel +32%, 100LL +70%), and that total revenue is up compared with eight years ago.

Drawing on outreach to about 77 regional airports within a 100-mile radius, Cartik presented multiple strategic paths for Plymouth: prioritize airside improvements to attract corporate and jet traffic (runway extension, corporate hangars, fuel farms), build flight-training capacity, or pursue niche uses such as drone testing and electric aviation. He emphasized that airside work is often eligible for federal funding and can catalyze landside private investment.

Jeff and airport leadership confirmed design-phase roles for Wilpert and the Marshall County EDC and said Focus (InFocus) will serve a project management role to align stakeholders through design and implementation. The commission engaged Cartik in questions about sequencing, funding, and community impacts; the team said further economic-impact modeling and three scenarios (safe, base, optimistic) will guide prioritized recommendations.