Grant Awarded to Improve Conditions at Fox Airfield

The William G. Fox Airfield has been awarded a $1.7 million federal grant to improve and lengthen its runway, Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) said Friday.

In addition to lighting and navigational improvements, the Department of Transportation grant will pay for a 1,000-foot extension of the runway, allowing for a larger variety of aircraft to use the facility, McKeon said.

The grant award comes the same week that a Lancaster company announced plans to begin a new commuter air service from Fox Airfield, which is owned by Los Angeles County. Commercial passenger service in the Antelope Valley ended in April with the withdrawal of the last scheduled airline using Palmdale Airport.

A spokesman for Lancaster-based AV Aviation said that the company would begin offering a charter air service out of Fox Airfield next week. The company, which will operate under the name Cal West Airways, also plans to offer regularly scheduled flights to several western United States cities in the fall, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, Fresno, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

“I am encouraged by the exciting news that commercial aviation is returning to the Antelope Valley,” Mckeon said. “I am hopeful that this federal grant will facilitate even more air service.”