MASCOUTAH, Ill. — After years of sitting vacant, things are starting to take off at Mid-America Airport.
Since opening the doors in 1997, travelers have chosen Mid-America Airport for the same reasons.
“Cheap flights,” said Devan Orrill
“It’s convenient,” said Kevin Kozma.
“Everything here is much quicker than at Lambert,” said Buddy Wood.
With more than 340,000 travelers projected to walk through the doors at Mid-America in 2021, things are starting to get a bit cramped.
“The sky is the limit, or in this case, the space is the limit,” said Bryan Johnson, Director of Mid-America Airport.
That problem will soon be a thing of the past thanks in part to roughly $13-million in federal funding which will allow the airport to double in size.
“It’s all about passenger throughput,” said Johnson. “We want to make sure that’s as convenient for the traveler as possible.”
Johnson said work is already underway to relocate security, add additional concessions, and more gates to accommodate more travelers.
“With more gates and terminal expansion will come more flights,” said Johnson. “We already know that. We’re looking forward to expanding that schedule even further, most certainly to the east and we’re also looking towards the west.”
For frequent flyers like Devan Orrill and Kevin Kozma, that means more deals to their favorite destinations.
“We’d love for more days to fly and more opportunities to go more places,” Orrill said. “As our kids grow up we’d love to see more, and travel more places for sure.”
“If Allegiant flies where you need to go, or close to it, you need to come out here,” said Kozma.
In an effort to make things more convenient for travelers’, plans are in the works to make Mid-America the final stop on the Metro Link, but it’s unclear exactly when that will take place.