26-04-2025
Berks officials celebrate upgrades at Reading Aviation
It was a rare situation for Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach.
With a booming voice and ample experience speaking in public, it isn't often that he has trouble being heard. But standing behind a podium inside a cavernous hanger at the Reading Regional Airport Friday afternoon, his words struggled to reach the crowd sitting in front of him.
As he began to speak, he was quickly drowned out by the roaring engines of an airplane taxiing nearby. Leinbach took the momentary interruption in stride.
'This is an airport, after all,' he said with a chuckle.
Leinbach couldn't be too mad at the plane since having a busy airport is important to what he and other local leaders had gathered at the Bern Township airfield to celebrate.
The airport authority held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of recent renovations to Reading Aviation that represent a $750,000 investment to enhance its service and infrastructure.
'It's been a long journey to get to this point and we still have a lot to do, but I think overall we are very pleased with how things have turned out,' airport director Zackary Tempesco said during the event.
Since taking over as the sole provider of aviation services at the airport in January 2024, the authority that oversees it has been busy renovating and revamping the facilities it secured as part of the deal.
The authority purchased the assets of two fixed base operations — the Reading Jet Center and Millennium Aviation — at the airport at a cost of about $14 million.
The assets acquired in the deal included a 18,000-square-foot building located next to the main terminal that offers passenger and pilot lounges, office space and a conference room. It also came with more than 70,000 square feet of hangar space.
State, county and airport officials cut a ribbon for the Reading Aviation facility ceremony on Friday, April 25, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The operation provides fuel, aircraft maintenance and detailing, towing, cargo handling, planeside access and parking services.
Those assets have been rebranded under the new moniker Reading Aviation.
Tempesco said that as the sole fixed-base operator at the airport, Reading Aviation plays a vital role in supporting general aviation and driving economic activity throughout Berks County.
He said the recent renovations further the overall mission to make the Bern Township airfield the best general aviation airport in the state.
Tempesco noted a study conducted by PennDOT found the airport generates a total annual economic impact of about $78 million. But, he said, that figure could be even better with the moves they are making to attract commercial service and create more leasable hangar space.
For instance, the airport authority granted approval earlier this year to proceed with the design of a 24,000-square-foot hangar that Wyomissing-based Gaming and Leisure Properties will lease from Reading Aviation. It is part of a larger $16 million project that will include the construction of three hangars.
Leinbach, who serves as chairman of the airport authority, touted the ongoing turnaround at the airport since the county took a more active role in its operations. He said there had been a 20-year decline in usage of the airfield that prompted leaders to get involved. And that is no longer the case, he said.
'I'm so excited about the future of Reading Regional Airport,' he said. 'I appreciate everyone who is here to celebrate a new beginning as we move forward to become the best general aviation airport in the commonwealth.'
The refurbished lounge area at the Reading Aviation facility on Friday, April 25, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
