MidAmerica Airport terminal will get $835,000 upgrade

Passengers at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah will see a new look in the 20-year-old terminal.

The St. Clair County Public Building Commission on Thursday voted to hire an engineering company to design improvements for the terminal. The project is expected to cost an estimated $835,000 and a Federal Aviation Administration grant will cover up to 90 percent of the cost if the county provides a 10 percent match.

The commission voted unanimously to hire Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Inc., which has offices in Springfield and St. Louis, to complete professional services for the project for $60,000.

The planned work includes replacement of the main entry door, public address system modernization, interior and exterior lighting update and passenger loading bridge safety improvements.

MidAmerica Airport Director Tim Cantwell said the terminal renovations could begin later this year and that the terminal would remain open during the four months it takes to complete the project.

The 53,400-square-foot terminal opened in 1996.

In other business

Cantwell reported that the number of passengers using the airport is on the rise and more passengers are expected when Allegiant Air begins two new flights to Florida.

Last year, about 76,000 passengers went through the terminal, and this year he expects 120,000.

Allegiant flights to Jacksonville, Fla., will start May 26 and flights to Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Fla., will begin on June 2.

The discount airline also offers flights from MidAmerica to Sanford/Orlando, Fla.; Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla.; Fort Myers/Punta Gorda, Fla.; and Las Vegas.

Allegiant is the only passenger airline operating out of MidAmerica.

Cantwell said airlines generally need a plane to be 70 percent full before making a profit, and that Allegiant flights out of MidAmerica have been 85 percent full on average for all destinations.

“They have been killing it,” he said in reference to Allegiant.

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 8:43 AM with the headline "MidAmerica Airport terminal will get $835,000 upgrade."