Oklahoma is home to the two largest MRO facilities in the world. The American Airlines Maintenance and Engineering Center, the largest commercial MRO, employs more than 6,000 in Tulsa; the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex at Tinker Air Force Base in the largest air depot maintenance facility for the U.S. Department of Defense and employs approximately 26,000.

· Aerospace is Oklahoma’s second largest industry. It employs over 120,000 and is home to over 500 companies of which a large percentage are MRO-focused.

· OK is home to 18 Fortune 500 companies involved in aerospace. Notable names include Boeing, American Airlines and Lockheed Martin.

· Oklahoma is committed to growing its aerospace sector. Over the past 10 years, an influx of MRO companies have been relocating to Okla. from both coasts, including PAS MRO, Aviation Avionics & Instruments, TAT Technologies, Ltd, and abroad such as Lufthansa Technik.

· Not only is Oklahoma a right-to-work state with labor costs 25% below the national average, but it also offers aviation companies a variety of business incentives like the Aerospace Industry Engineer Workforce Tax Credit and 21st Century Quality Jobs Program.

· Click here to view a complete brief about Oklahoma’s aerospace sector.

About the Oklahoma Air & Space Port

The Oklahoma Air & Space Port, run and maintained by the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA), is in the western part of the state on the premises of a former naval air base. The site:

· Boasts a 3-mile long runway, the fourth largest concrete civilian runway in North America at 13,503 feet long by 200 feet wide.

· Was recognized in 2006 by NASA and the FAA as a launch site for space projects

· Is the only licensed spaceflight corridor (145-mile long by 50-mile-wide) that lies outside military-controlled airspace.

· Offers clear air traffic for launches that involve space-related technology and is the only civilian site that allows for both horizontal and vertical space take-offs and landings.

· Is today a public-use airport and industrial airpark that has the facilities in place for aerospace testing, research and development, flights and launches.

· To date aerospace companies Boeing, Honda and Kratos Defense Solutions have utilized the spaceport for various testing of aircraft.

· Is an FBO (Fixed-Based Operation) offering jet-A fuel and related aircraft services.