Cape airport receives important $1 million funding from FAA

The Cape Girardeau Regional Airport received some good news recently.

The airport registered 8,132 enplanements in 2022, which surpassed the 8,000 enplanements benchmark to receive $600,000 from the federal government. The Federal Aviation Administration then came back and said they would add an additional $400,000 to the total to reach $1 million, a marker traditionally reserved for 10,000 enplanements. The additional funding recognized that Cape Girardeau would have likely reached the 10,000 enplanements marker if not for the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's important for our airport, for the continued investment in the infrastructure," Amos said of the additional funding, noting there is need for repairs of taxiways and runways. "I'm thrilled that we'll be able to have additional dollars put forward toward future projects."

SkyWest, the previous commercial airliner that offered service between Cape Girardeau and Chicago, made up more than 6,400 of the enplanements. Contour, which made its first flight from Cape Girardeau to Nashville in October, added 1,420. The other 300 came from Cape Air and Southeast Missouri State University charter flights. The university continues to build its promising commercial pilot program.

The 2022 total follows 8,889 boardings in 2021. But 2022 was a transition year for the Cape airport, which switched commercial carriers and connecting cities. The long-term trend for the airport has been strong.

There's certainly significant investment being made with a $12 million terminal on the way. The $4.8 million Taxiway Bravo project at the airport has been under construction since the fall, using a portion of the city's American Rescue Plan Act funds. And airport management is are taking steps on the T-hangar construction project, expected to total $2.9 million.

There are also conversations about Contour adding another destination beyond Nashville. Pre-COVID, Skywest was certainly doing well with many Cape Girardeau customers opting to take the flight from CGI to O'Hare. We would hope a direct flight there would be possible in the future.

There's a lot to be excited about with the airport. We're happy to see Cape receive the milestone funding, which should help propel it forward during this important time.