Limestone County’s Pryor Field Regional Airport is bolstering its aviation maintenance offerings, thanks to the new acquisition of a privately owned hangar at the property that will become the home of a Memphis-based aviation support company.

The Pryor Field Airport Authority has agreed to purchase the hangar, which was first built in 2001 and, until now, has served as a general aviation maintenance facility. Under its new airport ownership, the hangar will be occupied by FTair, LLC — an aviation services company that first established a presence at the airport in February of this year, servicing general aviation aircraft from avionics upgrades and installs to oil changes and 100-hour inspections.

At a recent board meeting, the airport authority board authorized airport director Adam Fox to move forward with the acquisition of the hangar. Fox presented the board earlier this month with a 10-year lease agreement with FTair, which is expected to occupy the newly purchased maintenance hangar beginning June 1.

“Requesting a ten-year lease agreement further proves our commitment to Pryor Field (DCU), its based tenants, and transient customers that frequent North Alabama,” said Joe Mateo, chief operating officer of Virginia-based Flight Test Aerospace, Inc. (FTA), which owns FTair as a subsidiary. “This facility also gives us the ability to service other operations in North Alabama such as airline operations at Huntsville International.”

Once settled in the new maintenance facility, FTair has plans to employ more than 15 technicians to meet current demand at the airport. The company estimates that its operations at the airport will contribute more than $2 million annually to the area’s economy.

Pryor Field, said Fox via a press release, “is the perfect location for aviation facilities to locate and grow due to the robust quality of life, educational partnerships with Calhoun Community College and Athens State, and cheaper cost of doing business. We are proud of our recent ‘flight path’ for growth and are proud to have FTair expanding with us.”

Pryor Field Regional Airport is home to 57 hangars. Two hangars remain privately owned and are leasing land under a long-term ground lease. The remaining facilities are owned by the Airport Authority.

Neal Ropp, FTair general manager for the the company’s Limestone County and Huntsville airports, noted in the release that Pryor Field is in the midst of rapid growth: “We are proud to be at the center of some of that expansion and have plans to bring business to our new facility from across the Southeast for scheduled maintenance and avionics installs.”