Airport lease agreement to revert to City

March 2, 2021

ConocoPhillips announces termination of airport management

The City-owned Bartlesville Municipal Airport will soon be back under management of the City following an announcement that ConocoPhillips will terminate its lease-operating agreement with the City in August.

On Feb. 22, 2021 the City of Bartlesville received official notice from ConocoPhillips that the company would terminate its lease-operating agreement with the City to manage and operate the Bartlesville Municipal Airport, effective Aug. 15, 2021.

While the airport is owned by the City of Bartlesville, management of its operation has been provided by ConocoPhillips and the preceding Phillips companies for several years. The termination of the agreement will transfer operations back to the City beginning Aug. 16, 2021.

“We certainly appreciate everything ConocoPhillips and its predecessors have done over these many years to ensure the smooth operation of the airport by providing qualified personnel and ongoing cost assistance,” said City Manager Mike Bailey. “We look forward to working with the company in the coming months to review more specific information regarding these practices. At that time we will evaluate our options and decide how to best move forward.”

Bailey said City staff has begun reviewing the matter and that information will be become more available in the coming weeks.

“There will be a lot of information gathering and even more discussion regarding the airport and how we proceed,” he said.