New beginning for Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport

H. Ross Perot, Sr, believed that one day Fort Worth Alliance Airport would be a global hub for the jobs of tomorrow, and now the 33-year-old airport will bear his name forever after Hillwood, the City of Fort Worth and the FAA, officially recognised the airport’s name change to Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport during a special dedication ceremony.

The airport opened on December 14, 1989, was the first in the world to be designated specifically for industrial use, and now serves as base for cargo and logistics, corporate and government flights and boasts a newly expanded FBO facility.

“My dad wholeheartedly believed Fort Worth Alliance Airport would be the centre piece of an unprecedented jobs corridor in Texas,” said Ross Perot Jr, chairman of The Perot Group and Hillwood.

“Investing in the northwest corner of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex mattered to him, and he immediately saw its potential.

“The airport became the catalyst for one of the great Texas business stories of our day, and we’re only halfway through. Development at AllianceTexas will continue on for at least another generation, which will help to ensure a future for our children and hopefully their children, too.”

Born out of a collaboration between Hillwood, the City of Fort Worth and the FAA, Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW) is home to an assortment of flight services including air cargo, corporate and government aviation, and is the cornerstone of one of the nation’s most successful private-public partnerships, the 27,000-acre AllianceTexas development.

Since the opening in 1989, AFW has served as a premier destination for aviation and global logistics leaders at AllianceTexas. The development has contributed to more than $100 billion in cumulative economic impact to the region since its inception.

“AllianceTexas, anchored by the world’s first industrial airport, has proven to be a modern-day, Texas-sized success story, encapsulating the pioneering and can-do spirit so often associated with the state,” said Mattie Parker, mayor of the City of Fort Worth.

“The development has contributed to more than $100 billion in cumulative economic impact to the region since its inception, as well as more than $3.1 billion in paid property taxes, including $621.5 million to Fort Worth alone.

“Fort Worth will remain a full-fledged partner with Alliance Airport and AllianceTexas, just as it has been since Day 1 with former mayors Bob Bolen and Kay Granger.”

Designed by Corgan Architects and Amaze Design, the new FBO space encompasses more than 20,000 square feet of highly amenitised lounges and meeting facilities along with an additional 68,000 square feet of attached hangar space.

Alliance Aviation Services now has six hangars totalling approximately 200,000 square feet to support the growing fleet of based aircraft.

• Naming cermony images courtesy of Grant Miller Photography.