Fall 2021 has been a busy period for St. Louis Downtown Airport (KCPS) as we continue to see a strong rebound in flights taking advantage of our unmatched location to access downtown St. Louis and the surrounding region. From companies that have resumed business travel to major concert acts that have been rolling into town, we’ve been pleased to welcome growing numbers of flights each month. Between January 1 and October 31, 2021, KCPS hosted more than 85,600 flight operations, an increase of more than 3,500 operations compared to the same period in 2019. That’s a clear sign that we’re putting the pandemic-related challenges of 2020 behind us and have emerged stronger than ever.
The strength of the private aviation sector was also very evident at the well-attended 2021 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas last month, which was back as an in-person conference this year, reclaiming its status as the most significant event for the business aviation industry. We were excited to participate and have shared some of the highlights in our recap article.
We also are pleased to share that St. Louis Downtown Airport was recognized as the 2020 Reliever Airport of the Year by the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Aeronautics. Bi-State Development, which owns and operates the airport for the region, is proud of the accomplishments at KCPS that earned this honor and of our airport’s contributions to the vitality of the state’s aviation system.
This fall also marked a time of transition for St. Louis Downtown Airport, as we accepted the resignation of Director Erick Dahl. Over the past eight years, Erick’s commitment to the airport and achievements set the bar high, but we’re in the process of selecting his replacement and happy to report that we have some outstanding candidates in the running. We’ll look forward to introducing our new director in the coming weeks.
Sincerely,
Mary Lamie, Executive Vice President of Multi Modal Enterprises
Bi-State Development