Sussex Airport (New Jersey)

Last updated

Sussex Airport
FWN airport diagram.png
Summary
Airport typePublic Use
OwnerSussex Aviation LLC
Serves Sussex, New Jersey
Location Wantage Township, Sussex County, New Jersey
Elevation  AMSL 422 ft / 129 m
Coordinates 41°12′01″N074°37′23″W / 41.20028°N 74.62306°W / 41.20028; -74.62306
Website www.sussexaviation.com
Map
Sussex Airport (New Jersey)
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
3/213,5061,069Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Aircraft operations21,444
Based aircraft29
View across airport Sussex Airport, New Jersey.jpg
View across airport

Sussex Airport( ICAO : KFWN, FAA LID : FWN) is a privately owned, public use airport located one mile southwest of Sussex in Wantage Township, Sussex County, New Jersey. It is just outside Sussex Borough. The public-use airport is privately owned by Sussex Aviation LLC [1] which purchased it in 2015. [2]

Contents

The airport used to host the Sussex Airshow but the previous owner had stopped holding the shows (as of 2009) while he tried to sell the airport. The township of Wantage was then studying the feasibility of purchasing the airport. [3] [4]

Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, but this airport is FWN to the FAA and has no IATA code. [5]

Ownership

The airport is privately owned by Sussex Aviation LLC, which purchased the field in 2015 and operates it as Sussex Airport. The company is managed by Alan Antaki, a private airport owner and operator who also owns Monmouth Executive Airport in Wall Township, New Jersey. Antaki has been active in preserving and seeking funding for both facilities, and his ownership of Monmouth Executive has included a prominent dispute with Monmouth County over potential acquisition efforts. [6]

Facilities

Sussex Airport covers 96 acres (39  ha ) at an elevation of 421 feet (128 m). Its one runway, 3/21, is 3,506 by 75 feet (1,066 x 23 m). In the year ending May 1, 2019 the airport had 21,444 general aviation aircraft operations, average 59 per day. 29 aircraft were then based at the airport: 86% single-engine, and 14% multi-engine. [1]

The airport does not have air traffic control (ATC), instead using UNICOM where pilots talk on common radio frequencies to coordinate runway and taxiway use.

Runway information

On field

Off field

Controversies

Embezzlement by former owner (2009)

In 2009, the airport's former owner, Paul Styger, pleaded guilty to federal charges of embezzlement. This stemmed from his misuse of $378,000 of grant money provided for airport improvements. [2] He faced up to two years in prison. [7] [8] He was eventually convicted, and was ordered to repay the money and was put on probation without getting any prison sentence. [2] Wantage Township officials admittedly knew that Styger was under investigation for embezzlement, but were asked to keep silent by state and federal agencies in an attempt to preserve the integrity of the investigation. [9]

Hangar and land-use dispute (2024–present)

Beginning in 2024 and continuing through 2025, the airport's current owner, Sussex Aviation LLC (Alan Antaki), has been involved in a dispute with the owner/operator of a parcel adjacent to the airfield, William Gennaro (doing business as When Pigs Fly LLC), over the use of multiple private hangars located off-airport on an 18-acre parcel adjacent to the Airport. [10] Antaki and his attorneys allege that the hangars are being used primarily for non-aeronautical storage (for example, cars and other vehicles) in contravention of the property's permitted use and of agreements associated with the parcel; they argue that such non-aeronautical uses jeopardize the airport's ability to obtain certain federal grant funds and otherwise threaten the airport's aeronautical operations. [11] Gennaro and his counsel counter that federal guidance allows temporary non-aeronautical use of vacant hangars and that the land-use board should grant a zoning variance to allow continued rentals to non-aviation tenants when hangars are otherwise unoccupied.

The dispute has produced municipal enforcement actions, land-use hearings before the Wantage Township Land Use Board, municipal court and appellate litigation concerning ordinance violations related to hangar storage, and civil filings in which Sussex Aviation LLC has intervened to protect the airport's interests. Public meeting minutes, local reporting, and court dockets show the matter remains active before the Wantage Land Use Board and in related court filings as of mid-2025. [12]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 FAA Airport Form 5010 for FWN PDF . Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 2020-10-08.
  2. 1 2 3 Scruton, Bruce A. (2015-08-15). "New owners tighten security at Sussex Airport". NJHerald.com. New Jersey Herald. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  3. ↑ Two bidders vie to conduct airport purchase study Archived 2012-04-20 at the Wayback Machine . The Advertiser-News. April 1, 2009.
  4. ↑ Wantage Township Airport Acquisition Feasibility Study 2009
  5. ↑ Great Circle Mapper: KFWN – Sussex, New Jersey – Sussex Airport
  6. ↑ Scruton, Bruce A. "Head of Sussex skydiving club testifies in dispute between airport, hangar owner". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  7. ↑ "Owner of Sussex County airport admits embezzling FAA". The Star-Ledger. May 26, 2009.
  8. ↑ Airport owner admits stealing grant money Archived 2012-04-20 at the Wayback Machine . The Advertiser-News. May 27, 2009.
  9. ↑ The truth can now be told Archived 2012-04-20 at the Wayback Machine . The Advertiser-News. June 3, 2009.
  10. ↑ Fumagalli, Bryan. "Airport issue goes before Land Use Board tonight". www.advertisernewssouth.com. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  11. ↑ Scruton, Bruce A. "Wantage postpones hearing on Sussex Airport hangar dispute". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  12. ↑ Scruton, Bruce A. "Head of Sussex skydiving club testifies in dispute between airport, hangar owner". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
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