✈️ Atlanta's KFTY Falls 3.28% While KPDK Grows 2.8%
Atlanta's two business-aviation airports moved in opposite directions this year. Avi-Go data shows DeKalb-Peachtree (KPDK) logged 34,762 movements from January 1 to July 21, 2026, up 2.8% (+940) from 33,822 a year earlier; Fulton County (KFTY) recorded 10,729, down 3.28% (-364). KFTY's internal mix split: managed operators kept growing (NetJets 848, +14.3%; Flexjet 366, +16.2%), while two corporate in-house fleets contracted (Home Depot 363, -17.3%; Norfolk Southern 298, -9.7%). But those two shrank by only about 110 movements combined — far short of the airport's 364-movement decline, which came mainly from broad-based softness among smaller operators outside the top ranks.
Impact: KFTY's traffic is spread across many smaller operators, so gains at the top managed operators and losses at individual corporate fleets offset each other; the airport-wide trend is driven mainly by overall activity in the long tail. KPDK, by contrast, benefits from managed growth at NetJets (4,694, +8.2%) and Flexjet (1,813, +20.4%), giving it stronger resistance to volatility.
Recommendation: KFTY-based FBOs should proactively engage growing managed operators such as NetJets and Flexjet within Q3 2026, expanding their fractional-ownership client base to hedge against the overall traffic decline and reduce reliance on a handful of corporate clients.