History Of Peachtree Dekalb Airport

DeKalb Peachtree Airport in Chamblee outside of Atlanta is an example of how Georgia general-aviation facilities have improved the state's air transportation system and overall economy. PDK, as the airport is commonly called (each public-use airport has an official Department of Transportation code of letters and/or numbers), has averaged 230,000 operations-takeoffs and landings-annually for more than thirty years. PDK is the second-busiest airport in Georgia, behind only Hartsfield-Jackson.

PDK is for metropolitan Atlanta a "general reliever airport"; it helps reduce congestion by providing local service for smaller aircraft, allowing Hartsfield-Jackson to serve commercial airlines exclusively. General aviation at PDK includes corporate jets, aircraft charters, flight lessons, aircraft maintenance, personal planes for business and recreation, and helicopters.

DeKalb Peachtree Airport occupies the original site of Naval Air Station Atlanta, which operated from 1942 to 1959. Afterward the airport became a department of the DeKalb County government. By 1975 more than 400 aircraft, as well as 48 corporations, were based at PDK. In 1988 the FAA completed a $2 million, 130-foot freestanding control tower for the airport. In the 1990s PDK obtained a modern helipad, where most media organizations in Atlanta base their helicopters. Boxing great Muhammad Ali arrived at PDK in 1996 when he came to Atlanta to light the torch for the Olympic Games.

Today PDK has four aviation service companies, seven flight schools, and two helicopter operations. Corporations with flight departments at PDK include  Southern Company, Cousins Properties and Rollins, . The airport consists of 765 acres, which encompass 4 runways (each more than 5,500 feet), 25 large hangars, and 90 smaller ones, with about 590 aircraft based at the facility.

PDK, which is financially self-sufficient, is the third-largest payer of property taxes in DeKalb County, responsible for an estimated 7,300 jobs, and generates approximately $130 million in income for local residents. In 2000 the National Air Transportation Association named PDK one of "America's 100 Most Needed Airports," critical for the growth of the nation's aviation and economy.