Scott Kohut, Deputy Director, Boca Raton Airport Authority

In the last economic impact study, the Boca Raton Airport Authority had a $693 million annual economic impact in the local area, and the impact is expected to continue growing going forward. “Boca Raton, I believe, is still one of the largest per capita locations for business headquarters, especially in Palm Beach County,” Scott Kohut, deputy director of the Boca Raton Airport Authority, told Invest:.

What are some of the most significant milestones and achievements for the airport over the last 12 to 18 months?
We did celebrate our 75th anniversary of being a public-use airport. The airport started in 1936 as a small grass strip and was turned over to the government in 1942 to become an army airfield, where they did the only radar training for the Army Air Corps back during the war. Then in 1947, it was turned over to the town of Boca Raton, and then it evolved from there over the next 75 years into its current form, Boca Raton Airport Authority, which was created in 1982.
It was a big year of celebration. We hosted a lot of events. We put together a great coffee table book, which we were proud of. That was a great celebration of the history of the airport, and there was a lot of community support. We also had our ground-breaking of our upcoming airport observation area, which everyone is excited about. We should be having the ribbon cutting in early 2025 for that facility.
We’ve also done a few infrastructure projects. We had a large electrical rehab where we converted the entire Airfield electrical system to LED lighting. All the runway lights, taxiway lights, the approach indicators, everything is now LED, which is great. It has a lot lower energy footprint and has reduced maintenance costs significantly. That was a big undertaking. Those are the highlights for last year locally, but it was also a big year in the industry, with a lot of moving parts. I’m sure that will continue in 2025.

How has the demand for corporate and recreational flights evolved recently?
It remains fairly strong, although it did soften a little bit in early 2024. A lot of that is tied to the economy and inflation and uncertainty. Some of the newer entrants into the business, aviation, and travel sectors pulled back a little. They came on during the pandemic because of the convenience and safety and stuck with it. But then when the economy softened, some of that demand softened. But we are seeing it come back quite strong recently. That softening allowed aircraft manufacturing to catch up with the demand. There was such a demand for corporate jets and any general aviation aircraft throughout 2024 that manufacturing just couldn’t keep up.
Now, deliveries are actually up in every general aviation sector: business jets, turbo-proof prop, and piston aircraft. It’s starting to fill that demand gap a little bit, and we expect that to continue in 2025 as well.

How has the airport strategized to navigate any potential headwinds?
Well, a lot of the headwinds for the airport recently have been at the regulatory level. The reauthorization finally got across the finish line in the middle of 2024, which is great. We’ve got five years of stability on that front. However, funding is always up in the air, especially with looming possibilities of a potential government shutdown. But as long as that works itself out, there’s a lot of infrastructure needs still in the industry as a whole, both airfield-wise and terminal projects which are really big right now. Hopefully we can maintain those funding levels at the federal and state levels to support that reinvestment into the nation’s airport infrastructure. But other than that, we’re just reinvesting in the facility.
We also have a stormwater project coming up this year. Stormwater in South Florida is a big issue to review, both from where you put it and how you treat it so you’re not adversely impacting the environment. We’ll be kicking that off and breaking ground after the first of the year. That’ll make it a little bit interesting, especially with the increased seasonal traffic and with the return of the presidential TFRs in Palm Beach coming up.

What unique opportunities does the airport present for aviation business and pilots compared to other regional airports?
I think that location is a great asset to us. We’re close to the heart of downtown Boca Raton. We’re the only general aviation facility serving jet traffic in the South County area. With the presidential TFR’s, we see a lot of traffic that would normally be going into Palm Beach International coming and relocating here during those times.
Our location is also a driver of relocation of corporate offices here in the local area. One thing a lot of companies look at when they’re looking to relocate, especially their C-suites and their executive offices, is how they can get their people around where they need to be safely, efficiently, and without waiting in long lines. Having an airport such as Boca Raton right here down in South County is a great incentive to bring in business relocations. Boca Raton, I believe, is still one of the largest per capita locations for business headquarters, especially in Palm Beach County. We’re proud to help the community in that way. And then, with the flight training market remaining strong, we’re also hearing about pilot shortages and air traffic controller shortages. We have thriving local flight schools to support those shortages.

What green initiatives or partnerships is the airport exploring to stay ahead of industry environmental trends?
We have two projects, one that’s currently about midway through and one that will be coming up here this next year. The first one is a sustainability management plan where we’re taking a holistic look at the airport facilities, everything from potential uses for solar, LED conversions, power generation, stormwater treatment, and even what we do with the garbage, recycling, and solid waste.
Looking toward the future, one of the trends in the industry is electric aircraft. The EV toll, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, air taxis, and those types of things. It’s going to be a big market in South Florida. We’ve had a lot of interest from the manufacturers and some of the bigger airport operators. Unfortunately, our footprint is so small, it makes it difficult, but we certainly want to be able to have that infrastructure in place when those aircraft come online.

What are the airport’s top priorities for the next 2-3 years?
I think a lot of it is just continuing to reinvest into the infrastructure of the facility, getting ready for that modernization concept that we touched on earlier with the EV tools, and really leveraging any of the new technologies that are coming out.
As part of FAA reauthorization, they had an initiative that directed the FAA to restart the exploration of the remote tower concept. The idea is to take the traditional air traffic control tower, which takes up quite a bit of a footprint, and replace it with cameras on a pole and a bunch of smart sensors and radar touchpoints and things like that. That allows you to move the workforce of that facility off-site and open up some more usable space, while still maintaining a safe and efficient traffic management environment. There are new technologies like those coming along that are exciting with all the automation. A lot is coming down the road that is going to transform how we maintain, monitor, and keep a safe and efficient travel environment.

How do you expect the airport to contribute to the broader aviation industry and the local economy over the next decade or so?
I think we’ll continue to be a strong economic driver here in South County. The last economic impact study done by the state of Florida was in 2022, and we had a $693 million annual economic impact here in the local area.
From an economic standpoint, we’re going to continue to be a driver. And then also, I think our partnerships with the students and the schools, and the local universities are going to be a driver of that labor force of the future, making sure that we’re continuing to supply candidates and employees and giving them the tools to help the industry advance.