MidAmerica Airport will get $3.6 million in federal coronavirus stimulus
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport will receive roughly $3.6 million in grant money being awarded to airports through Illinois who are struggling because of plummeting revenues due to COVID-19.
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth announced recently that a total of $69.99 million will be dispersed to struggling airports through Federal Aviation Administration, including MidAmerica. The funds were authorized through the Coranvirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
“The aviation industry is facing the steepest decline in air travel in history, threatening thousands of jobs in Illinois. This critical federal funding will help airports around our state stay afloat and continue operations,” Durbin said. “Senator Duckworth and I will continue working to provide relief for Illinoisans during this unprecedented crisis.”
The funds are aimed to help airport operators meet “ongoing needs” and to manage ongoing construction projects. MidAmerica will receive $3,658,446.
St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern did not return a request for comment on the grant funding.
The airport is currently open and operation “as usual,” according to a statement on its website. Following the guidance of the CDC and the St. Clair County Health Department the airport has increased cleaning and sanitization procedures, it says.
Last year was one of MidAmerica’s busiest with a 20% increase in passenger traffic. The airport set a record for its most monthly passengers in July with 46,000.
Allegiant Air is the lone commercial passenger airline company at MidAmerica with flights to several locations in Florida, South Carolina and Arizona. It also offers flights from MidAmerica to Las Vegas during the peak travel season.
In 2018, airport leaders approved a $2.1 million design contract for renovations at MidAmerica and more recently, announced a $96 million project to extend the MetroLink light-rail system from the Shiloh-Scott Air Force Base station to MidAmerica as part of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s six-year Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan.
“Making sure our airports across Illinois continue to have the support they need during the COVID-19 pandemic is important,” Duckworth said.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 12:04 PM.