MARQUETTE — The K.I. Sawyer International Airport held a community update via Zoom recently to talk about what it has been up to lately and plans for the future.

The update featured speakers from not only the airport, but also Invest UP, the Lake Superior Community Partnership, Marquette County and Mead & Hunt, as these groups have been collaborating with the airport.

“Marquette is a very robust market. People utilize the service and it reflects in our numbers,” Director of Operations and Airport Manager Duane DuRay said.

The airport carries roughly 42% of the entire Upper Peninsula passenger load.

In 2019, the airport had 116,866 passengers; 53,262 in 2020; and 101,991 in 2021.

“Pre-COVID, we were very solidly providing a profitable market for both American and Delta. Unfortunately, COVID did strike and you can see our numbers drastically dropped. It didn’t start to recover until the first part of 2021, and we slowly started to climb out of the COVID pandemic,” DuRay said.

The airport currently has American Airlines and Delta Airlines flying in and out, with Delta’s Minneapolis connection still suspended due to a pilot shortage. The Minneapolis flight is anticipated to return at the end of this year or early next year, according to DuRay.

Sawyer is the only non-essential air service airport in the U.P. Essential air service airports receive a subsidy per seat whether the seat is filled or not.

“Marquette has to provide the revenue for the airlines to remain profitable, for them to continue to operate on,” DuRay said. “All of the other commercial airports in the U.P. all garner a federal subsidy to guarantee that they will continue to have airline service, where again Marquette has to support ourself with our loads providing a profitable market for the airlines.”

Last year, Invest UP put together a report of recommendations for the airport that included terminal facility upgrades, addressing the interior of the terminal to make it more functional for passengers, having a new approach with the terminal and the entrance, demolition plans, and improving the airport’s inclement weather capabilities.

Recently, the airport has made improvements relating to Envoy Airlines, which is the carrier that represents American Airlines. Envoy has a maintenance and overhaul facility at the airport that employs over 200 people.

“If we want to compete in the industry, not necessarily just for airline service, but to maintain this repair and overhaul facility, we needed to expand our operation both with building improvements and airport security,” DuRay said.

The airport renovated a hangar, adding roughly 20,000 square feet to it, which was a $14 million project that garnered federal support though the Military Airport Program grant. The hangar is now able to house two of Envoy’s larger aircrafts.

DuRay laid out the airport’s future projects for the next few years. This year there will be a demolition of 13 blighted buildings at K.I. Sawyer, a $3 million project that will be funded by CARES Act money. This year there will also be a hangar fire suppression installation construction. This project will cost $2,350,000 and will be funded through the MAP.

The airport has also started rebranding efforts this year.

“People may wonder why are you doing that? If you look at the name of the airport, it’s Sawyer International Airport. We lost our customs agent back in 2000, so we’re not an international airport,” Marquette County Administrator Scott Erbisch said.

He went on to say the airport will also be expanding its Airport Advisory Committee.

Next year’s plans for the airport include taxiway rehabilitation construction, a $8,159,783 project that the airport is requesting federal assistance for.

“Currently these are military original pavement surfaces dating as far back as 1959. What we’re looking at doing is rehabilitating them, doing an overlay of asphalt so that we can extend their life,” DuRay said.

The other project slated for next year is a commercial terminal expansion.

The plans for 2024 include air traffic control tower improvements and a general aviation apron rehabilitation design. 2025 is the proposed year for terminal expansion construction with Mead & Hunt.

Mead & Hunt’s project architect Marc Godzina stated that the Federal Aviation Administration required a terminal study to determine future needs for the airport. The study found several issues within the current building, including in the secure areas, non-secure areas and exterior of it.

Godzina laid out the goals for the airport. Updates and upgrades need to be made to the gates and departure lounge, security screening, outbound baggage screening, arrivals area/baggage claim, and concessions. The total construction cost estimate is $32,325,014. The total Airport Improvement Program FAA-eligible costs come in at $25,753,538, making the total local cost $7,859,152

Lake Superior Community Partnership’s Sarah Lucas spoke about the challenges surrounding transportation to and from the airport. Challenges included inconsistent or intermittent demand for transportation service, high costs of ground transportation service, passenger expectations of more widely available options/service and reduced car rental fleets/limited hours.

“The reason that there isn’t a provider stationed there at the airport is that there isn’t enough regular demand to make it profitable to have someone there all the time,” Lucas said. “Demand has proven to be pretty inconsistent, it generally comes during the day, so some of the flights that arrive during more off hours there might be one or two people that need a ride but not enough to have someone stationed there full time. It’s really discouraged transportation providers from being there around the clock and ready for any passengers that arrive.”

She also noted that ride share apps don’t really work in the area because we either don’t have them, such as Uber, or drivers are sparse, such as Lyft.

Some of the solutions she gave were to develop web and social media content and messaging for ground transportation planning, create an information/awareness campaign, encourage coordination and facilitate discussions between private companies and public transit, include options for taxi-sharing in a passenger information kiosk, and explore and pursue grant options for providing guaranteed shuttle service

“The key things we need to keep going is community outreach, working with the LSCP, and continuing to work with Invest UP on these challenges that the airport faces,” Erbisch said.