The Blue Angels are slated to come to Augusta in 2025.
During the December meeting of the Augusta Aviation Commission at the Augusta Regional Airport (AGS), Tuesday morning, Chairman Dan Troutman announced to attending AGS staff and fellow commissioners that the U.S. Navy’s renowned flight demonstration squadron had disclosed its scheduled 2024-2025 show dates.
The Blue Angels have planned to come to the Garden City on April 26 – 27 in 2025, according to its website, “two weeks after the Masters,” noted Troutman.
The announcement came at the end of a meeting in which the commissioners voted to for Augusta Regional Airport to enter a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Battelle Savannah River Alliance, continuing its working relationship with the non-profit research and development organization.
Diane Johnston, director of Innovation and Business Development at AGS, noted the Alliance’s participation in the airport’s STEM initiatives, as well as the Skyworx Innovation Xchange, the AGS aerospace business incubator.
“This will just be a continuation that will allow for [research and development],” said Johnston. “Hopefully a multiuse hangar at some point in the very near future.”
The board also voted to enter into a land lease agreement with Brown & Gold Aero Investments of Augusta for approximately four acres of AGS property. The initial period of the lease would be 30 years, Johnston said, with four sets of renewable five-year options. During this initial period, there would not be an active land lease until the company completed construction and acquired a certificate of occupancy on a planned new facility on the property, after which it could use the land at no cost for the first year.
The commission voted to enter into a year-long lease agreement with Georgia Carolina Air LLC, in 2024, for more than $3,200 a month. Amid discussion of the item, Commissioner Don Clark alluded to the possibility of AGS seeking more opportunities for revenue-generating operations, such as partnering with companies like FedEx or UPS.
“Atlanta has capped out and they’re looking for other regional airports to start filling these gaps,” said Clark. “We need to really start looking at that… for the continued growth and vitality of the airport, but more importantly, for our positioning in the in the market.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
