Denton Helps Your Aviation Business Take Flight
Denton’s aviation industry companies are integral partners in the continued growth of the Denton economy. Their primary focus centers around aviation manufactured parts and support services sectors for military, commercial and civilian applications.
Examples include Med-Trans, a provider of Air Medical Transport, or any of our five flight training schools, which have trained thousands of prospective pilots from across the nation. Sheltair, a full-service fixed-base operator at the Denton Enterprise Airport provides hangar and airport concierge services to our cargo and corporate flights. Many inherent advantages exist in Denton and the surrounding region that augment the ability of businesses to develop their success.
Denton Enterprise Airport
Denton businesses have access to to world class aviation services. It is home to the city-owned Denton Enterprise Airport (DTO), a leading airport in Texas and the premier general aviation facility for North Texas. DTO is an optimal site for locating aviation business, as it is, in terms of operations, not only one of the most active airports in Texas but the country as well. As one of 11 reliever airports in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, DTO relieves general aviation traffic from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and serves as a significant mid-continent refueling center. The recent addition of a second 5,000-foot parallel runway and the creation of additional aircraft-related incentives foster targeted growth and development plans for the airport. As a result, DTO serves many major cargo companies, corporate flights, and is a base of operations for law enforcement, search and rescue and medical rescue flights.
Denton Resources
Denton’s commitment to aviation workforce training and industry research is unique. The University of North Texas (UNT) Discovery Park is a research park home to one of the most advanced university facilities in the nation for research on composite materials, a critical component in current and future aircraft design and manufacturing. Boeing and Honeywell partner with UNT’s Center for Advanced Non-Ferrous Structural Alloys in research projects to improve the performance of structural alloys for defense, transportation, energy and other industries.
Today’s high school and college students have access to numerous aviation-related programs. UNT has the only four-year aviation logistics program in the nation. North Central Texas College continually partners with Denton aviation manufacturers to provide customized skills training grants for new and advancing employees. Denton high school students can earn Aircraft Technology, Electronics, Engineering and CNC machining certifications at the district’s state-of-the-art Advanced Technology Complex campus.
TWU aviation program set to begin in Fall 2024. The program was designed to address the shortage of female pilots because the majority of pilots are males. And at the same time, the program aims to give women more representation because they are part of one of the most underrepresented groups. Learn more here.
Regional Benefits
North Texas has long been recognized as a global aviation and aerospace industry powerhouse location. According to Airports Council International, passenger traffic in 2021 through the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was the second-largest in the world. Other aviation facilities accessible to Denton in less than an hour’s radius include Dallas Love Field and Perot Field Fort Worth, the world’s first airport specifically designed for industrial and corporate use.
Corporate headquarters for American Airlines and Southwest Airlines are in Fort Worth and Dallas, respectively. As a result, North Texas contains the state’s largest concentration of aviation manufacturing employees. Support from other industry sectors in the Denton area contributes to aviation industry success, such as an increasing emphasis on supply chain/distribution logistics and multiple workforce education partners.
