Muskegon County Airport

Muskegon County Airport (IATA: MKG, ICAO: KMKG, FAA LID: MKG) is a county-owned, public-use airport in Muskegon County, Michigan, United States.[2] The airport is located four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) south of the central business district of Muskegon, Michigan,[2] in Norton Shores. It is mostly used for general aviation but is also served by United Express flying CRJ-200 regional jets to its Chicago-O'Hare hub. The airport and the county of Muskegon restored service to Chicago through the Essential Air Service program.

Muskegon County Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorMuskegon County
ServesMuskegon, Michigan
USA
LocationNorton Shores, Michigan
Elevation AMSL628 ft / 191.4 m
Coordinates43°10′04″N 086°14′08″W
Websitewww.muskegonairport.com
Map
MKG
Location of airport in Michigan
MKG
MKG (the United States)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
6/24 6,501 1,982 Asphalt
14/32 6,100 1,859 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Total passengers19,728 5.40%
Aircraft operations25,802 7.90%
Based aircraft80 1.2%
The terminal building interior.

As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 30,051 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[4] 15,886 in 2009, and 13,088 in 2010.[5] It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.[6]

History

In 1927 the Greater Muskegon Chamber of Commerce began a campaign to establish the Muskegon County Airport. The Muskegon County Board of Commissioners approved the construction of the airport's first terminal in 1931. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) project cost the county $12,000.[7]

United Airlines ended flights to Chicago (ORD) in October 1979; subsequent service to Chicago ended in 2002.[8][9] United had operated Boeing 737-200 jet service into the airport during the mid 1970s.[10] Another airline that operated jet service into Muskegon during this same time was North Central Airlines with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 twinjets.[11] Muskegon County Airport was the recipient of both the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 Balchen/Post Awards for outstanding achievement in snow and ice control in the small commercial service airport category.[12][13] Midwest Connect discontinued service to Milwaukee (MKE), effective September 2008.[14] Also in September, the airport was awarded a $650,000 federal Small Community Air Service grant to restore non-stop flights to Chicago-O'Hare International Airport.[15] On July 15, 2009, Mesaba Airlines petitioned the DOT for Essential Air Service subsidies to continue operating into Muskegon and seven other communities. Per DOT procedure, these cities were opened for bids by all interested carriers. For Muskegon, SkyWest Airlines submitted a bid to provide service to Chicago which required less than half the annual subsidy Mesaba wanted to continue service to Detroit. SkyWest was selected in November 2009, and began service on February 12, 2010, replacing Mesaba. SkyWest initially operated under a two-year contract for the service[16] but continues to currently provide flights with regional jets.[17]

The airport hosted an air show called the Muskegon Air Fair until 2006. Due to budget deficits, the air fair was placed on hiatus for the summer of 2007, but had been reinstated during Muskegon's Summer Celebration. However, as of 2011, the air show was indefinitely canceled because of additional losses.

Delta Connection offered a flight to Detroit until United Express started service to Chicago and passenger count decreased to where Delta stopped service.

Facilities and aircraft

Muskegon County Airport covers an area of 1,200 acres (486 ha) at an elevation of 629 feet (192 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: 6/24 is 6,501 by 150 feet (1,982 x 46 m) and 14/32 is 6,100 by 150 feet (1,859 x 46 m).[2]

For the 12-month period ending August 31, 2012, the airport had 35,194 aircraft operations (down from 36,744 in 2011), an average of 96 per day: 90% general aviation, 4% scheduled commercial, 3% air taxi, and 3% military. At that time 81 aircraft were based at this airport: 64% single-engine, 26% multi-engine, 5% jet, 4% helicopter, and 1% military.[2]

The airport is served by a fixed-base operator, Executive Air Transport. The FBO provides fuel and other pilot services. Car rental agencies are available at the airport. The Muskegon Area Transit System (MATS) route Harvey provides bus service to the airport.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines offer scheduled passenger service:

AirlinesDestinations
Sun Country Airlines Charter: Laughlin/Bullhead City
Swift Air Charter: Atlantic City
United Express Chicago–O'Hare

Skywest, operating as United Express, currently flies Canadair CRJ-200 regional jets on all nonstop services between Muskegon and Chicago.[17]

Statistics
Carrier shares: (August 2019 - July 2020)[18]
Carrier   Passengers (arriving and departing)
SkyWest
17,310(100.00%)
Top domestic destinations: (October 2019 - September 2020)[18]
Rank Airport Passengers Airline
1 Chicago–O'Hare International (ORD) 9,000 United Express
  • The Executive Air Ramp
  • FAA Airport Diagram

References
  1. "Passenger Boarding". Federal Aviation Administration.
  2. FAA Airport Form 5010 for MKG PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. effective January 10, 2013.
  3. "Measures of Michigan Air Carrier Demand". Michigan Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  4. "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF, 1.0 MB). [CY 2008 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data]. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009.
  5. "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF, 189 KB). [CY 2010 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data]. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011.
  6. "List of NPIAS Airports" (PDF). FAA.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  7. "Airport History". County of Muskegon. Archived from the original on August 13, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  8. "Airline to Drop Service to Muskegon County Airport". Toledo Blade. October 10, 1979. Retrieved December 14, 2009.
  9. Lupo, Lee (September 8, 2008). "Muskegon County Airport receives grant to obtain jet service to Chicago". Muskegon Chronicle. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  10. Official Airline Guide (OAG), Feb. 1976 edition
  11. Official Airline Guide (OAG), Feb, 1976 edition
  12. "Muskegon County Airport Receives International Award" (PDF). MuskegonAirport.com. Retrieved December 14, 2009.
  13. "Snow Symposium Balchen/Post Award". snowsymposium.org. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
  14. Gunn, Steve (July 21, 2008). "Midwest Airlines drops Muskgon". Muskegon Chronicle. Retrieved December 14, 2009..
  15. Mills, Jon (October 19, 2009). "Muskegon Co. Airport to get new jet service to Chicago". WZZM13.com. Retrieved December 14, 2009.
  16. "Docket DOT-OST-2009-0160". United States Department of Transportation. July 15, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  17. united.com, Oct. 13, 2013 system timetable
  18. "Muskegon, MI: Muskegon County (MKG)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation.

Other sources
  • Essential Air Service documents (Docket DOT-OST-2009-0160) from the U.S. Department of Transportation:
    • Ninety-day notice (July 15, 2009): from Mesaba Aviation, Inc. of its intent to discontinue unsubsidized scheduled air service at the following communities, effective October 12, 2009: Paducah, KY; Alpena, MI; Muskegon, MI; Hancock, MI; Sault Ste. Marie, MI; International Falls, MN; Tupelo, MS and Eau Claire, WI.
  • Essential Air Service documents (Docket OST-2009-0301) from the U.S. Department of Transportation:
    • Memorandum (November 19, 2009): closing out docket DOT-2009-0160 and opening up eight new dockets for the various communities (Alpena, MI; Eau Claire, WI; Hancock/Houghton, MI; International Falls, MN; Muskegon, MI; Paducah, KY; Sault Ste. Marie, MI; Tupelo, MS).
    • Order 2009-10-8 (October 16, 2009): selecting SkyWest Airlines, Inc., d/b/a United Express, to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Hancock/Houghton and Muskegon, Michigan, Paducah, Kentucky, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
    • Order 2012-1-24 (January 26, 2012): tentatively re-selecting SkyWest Airlines, Inc. to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) with subsidy rates as follows: Eau Claire, Wisconsin, $1,733,576; Hancock/Houghton, Michigan, $934,156; Muskegon, Michigan, $1,576,067; and Paducah, Kentucky, $1,710,775.
    • Order 2012-2-2 (February 1, 2012): makes final the selection of SkyWest Airlines, Inc., to provide Essential Air Service at Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Hancock/Houghton, Michigan; and Paducah, Kentucky (at Muskegon, the selection of SkyWest was not finalized at this time).
    • Order 2012-2-11 (February 15, 2012): makes final the selection of SkyWest Airlines, Inc., to provide Essential Air Service at Muskegon, Michigan.
    • Order 2013-10-8 (October 21, 2013): reselecting Delta Air Lines, Inc., to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Pellston and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; and SkyWest Airlines, at Paducah, Kentucky; Hancock/Houghton, and Muskegon, Michigan; and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The Order also tentatively reselects American Airlines, at Watertown, New York. Muskegon, Michigan: Docket 2009-0301; effective Period: January 1, 2014, through January 31, 2016; Service: Fourteen (14) nonstop round trips per week to Chicago O'Hare (ORD); Aircraft Type: CRJ-200; Annual Subsidy: $1,389,952.


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