GI airport celebrates more passengers, fewer subsidies, new office

GRAND ISLAND, Neb.

More passengers are flying GI, where the airport opens a new office. Their contract with American Airlines is up for renewal, and they’re taking steps to support flights without subsidies.

The new administrative building opened this month, after the old one was torn down to make way for the new terminal, that opened three years ago.

Airport Director Mike Olson said, “We knew that there would be light at the end of the tunnel. We didn’t expect it to be four and a half years, but it took a while to figure out the funding and where it was going to go.”

Olson said the price tag is about $1.8 million, part of a bigger project with concrete improvements.

“It is a culmination of about $21 million of physical facilities that we’ve done over the last four years, five years,” he said.

That includes the new passenger terminal for the Central Nebraska Regional Airport, plus a new general aviation terminal, new parking lots, paid parking, and now the administrative office.

“This isn’t the end of our progress, we’ll keep moving forward, have a few more projects on the board,” said Brian Quandt, chairman of the Hall County Airport Authority.

Next up, they plan to build a federally funded fire station, with a new fire truck.

But federal funds for flights may be coming to an end, which is a goal they’ve been working towards.

Quandt said, “Our boardings have continually increased, our subsidy has gone down, and American has added up to three flights a day on certain days.”

What was a $2 million subsidy is currently $900,000 a year, and pending approval, will be less than $400,000.

Olson said, “We’ll have a continuation of American Airlines which we work hard to brand and get the public to support that air service.”

If the airport can support flights without the federal Essential Air Service funding, it could create the possibility of new destinations.

When Olson started 13 years ago, only seven percent of local travelers flew out of Grand Island. Now as he looks at the new terminal from his even newer office, Olson said this airport now captures more than a third of local travelers, and airlines have taken note.

“We’ve earned that right for additional service,” he said.

The new administrative office is just south of the terminal and features a large meeting room, which could be used for corporate fly-in meetings, as well as the airport board.

The American Airlines proposal goes to the City Council for support, before the Department of Transportation makes its decision.