New Century Airport – Airport Master Plan

About the New Century AirCenter Airport Master Plan

New Century AirCenter (IXD) is located about five miles southwest of downtown Olathe. The airport was originally established in 1941 and served as a naval air station, providing flight training and other support services during World War II. Following the war, the airport functioned as a training center for Navy and Marine reservists before being decommissioned by the Navy in 1970. IXD was transferred to Johnson County in 1973 for use as a municipal airport/industrial park. Today, the airport encompasses more than 2,600 acres, accommodating a wide range of general aviation activity and supporting non-aeronautical development, including a multi-modal industrial park. IXD is home to numerous aviation and non-aviation businesses, 176 based aircraft, and reported nearly 70,000 aircraft operations in 2025. Combined with Johnson County Executive Airport, the two Johnson County airports provide direct and indirect economic benefits of $1.1 billion annually while supporting 4,938 local jobs.

The New Century AirCenter Master Plan Study is being undertaken to evaluate the airport’s capabilities and role, to forecast future aviation demand, and to plan for the timely development of new or expanded facilities that may be required to meet that demand. The goal of the master plan is to provide systematic guidelines for the airport’s overall maintenance, development, and operation.

The master plan is a proactive document which identifies and plans for future facility needs well in advance of the actual need for the facilities. This is done to ensure that airport management can coordinate project approvals, design, financing, and construction to avoid experiencing detrimental effects due to inadequate facilities.

Following Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) guidelines for a qualifications-based consultant selection process, Coffman Associates, Inc., was selected to undertake the master plan. Coffman Associates is a national aviation consulting firm specializing in airport planning studies. The study process is anticipated to take approximately 16 months to complete, followed by agency reviews and approvals. The structure of the master plan follows FAA guidelines and FAA will review and approve the aviation forecasts and the airport layout plan (technical drawings of the current and planned airport layout).

Draft chapters of the master plan will be presented to and reviewed by a Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) that is comprised of various airport stakeholders, including representatives from the Johnson County Airport Commission, Johnson County, Kansas Department of Transportation, airport businesses, tenants, economic development interests, and the FAA. Three public information workshops are planned at strategic points in the process to encourage citizens to learn more about the plans for the airport.

Project Team

Coffman Associates

Coffman Associates (a Pape-Dawson Company), a national aviation consulting firm specializing in airport planning studies, was selected following a qualifications-based selection process. Additional support will be provided by several subconsultants that will provide services for various elements/tasks of the master planning process.