Upton Announces Department of Transportation Grant for Kalamazoo Airport

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, today announced a $1,000,000 Department of Transportation grant awarded to the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport (AZO) to recruit, initiate, and support new air service from Kalamazoo to the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in Charlotte, North Carolina. The grant is funded through the Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP), which helps small communities address air service and airfare issues.

"I've flown in and out of Kalamazoo for many years traveling to and from Washington, and oftentimes, my connections run right through Charlotte," said Upton. "Our local airports are real assets to our communities in Southwest Michigan and this grant will certainly help create jobs, spur regional investment, and expand passenger service from Kalamazoo to Charlotte. I will continue to be a strong advocate for the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek Airport and help support their consistent efforts to connect Kalamazoo to the world."

"The Small Community Air Service Development grant is an important tool to attract air carriers to Kalamazoo. Receipt of this grant supports our continued efforts to bring more air service to the community and improve connectivity for our passengers," said Craig Williams, Director of the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport. "We are also pleased with Congressman Upton's support to assist with funding for our runway extension project. Extending the runway is an important enhancement to airport safety and this funding helps to keep the project moving forward."

Upton recently submitted a community project funding request through the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Improvement Program (AIP) to lengthen the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek Airport's runway by approximately 1,150 feet in turn attracting more consumers and air markets to the region. It was included in the House Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee's FY 22 appropriations bill at $1.5 million. This project would fund the realignment of an existing railway and the reconfiguration of taxiway intersections to bring the runway and taxiway systems into compliance with current FAA standards. The AIP supports planning and development initiatives at public-use airports nationwide that are part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems.

You can read more about the Small Community Air Service Development Program HERE and the Airport Improvement Program HERE.

The Kalamazoo/Battle Creek Airport has more than fifteen flights per day on three different airlines, which served over 305,000 passengers in 2019.

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