Waukegan Port District will take over fixed-base operations at Waukegan National Airport in Illinois through its own North Shore Jet Center, replacing longtime contract operator Signature Aviation. The new airport-owned FBO is set to begin ground-based operations on 1 October, in a move the district presents as a way to improve efficiency and free up more money for airport upgrades.
North Shore Jet Center will be owned and operated by the Waukegan Port District, which manages the airport north of Chicago. Airport manager Skip Goss said the transition should lower operating costs compared with using an outside provider. The change follows a period in which the district sought proposals for the sole FBO on the field.
Signature Aviation has served as the incumbent FBO at Waukegan National Airport, where it provided fuel, handling and other ground services. The airport’s shift to direct control of the operation places the FBO business under public ownership, changing the commercial structure of services at the field while keeping the same Chicago-area general aviation market in view.