We’ve written here before about Spain’s Castellon airport, until recently marooned without flights since it opened several years ago. But USA Today has uncovered a U.S. airport in nearly the same situation.
Mid America Airport in Muscoutah, IL, was planned as a competitor to St. Louis’s then-crowded Lambert Field, main hub of TWA. But Mid America has never drawn much business; currently there are two flights a week from the airport to Florida. In November, it will get a twice-weekly flight to Las Vegas.
The plan probably looked good when it opened in the late 1990s, although some industry critics think it was always a mistake, but it was hit with a triple whammy. First, TWA went into bankruptcy and was merged into American Airlines; by 2003, Lambert Field was no longer a hub and no longer crowded. Add to that the 9/11 attacks and their effect on air travel, and follow up with the mid-decade recession…The airport is now #388 in traffic out of 391 primary airports.
St. Clair County, which owns the airport, has tried a variety of tactics, but none have succeeded. There have been some industrial and cargo companies at the field, but not enough to make a difference, and most of the airlines that have given it a try have failed, including an attempt at a revived Pan Am, Great Plains Airlines and TransMeridian.
More details in USA Today: click HERE Airport photo: jbrede / flickr
