BUILT BY WISCONSIN-BASED Oshkosh Corp., the Oshkosh Striker is a specialized aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle. This model being put into service at Dickinson County’s Ford Airport came at cost of $774,000, paid mainly with federal funds. (Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo)

KINGSFORD — Ford Airport had a record 2,491 passenger boardings in July as traffic has rebounded — at least for now — above pre-pandemic levels.

Tim Howen, airport manager, updated the county board during a committee meeting Thursday in the airport’s Fontana Terminal, which may see new construction within the next several years. “The numbers are just back up over COVID,” Howen told the board.

In the near term, however, the airport could feel the effects of a pilot shortage disrupting air travel across the nation.

SkyWest Airlines hasn’t trimmed its schedule at the Dickinson County airport, but some flights will soon include stops in Rhinelander, Wis., rather than direct routes to and from Minneapolis, Howen said. The schedule is slated to get back to normal effective Oct. 5, he added.

Fixing the pilot shortage, meanwhile, could take some time. Training to become a commercial airline pilot in the U.S. typically involves 1,500 hours of flight time and can cost almost $100,000, limiting the number of candidates, according to the Associated Press.

SkyWest, based in St. George, Utah, has been the Essential Air Service carrier at Ford Airport since December 2012, operating under a contract that provides an annual federal subsidy of up to $3,868,146. A Delta carrier, SkyWest uses 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet 200 aircraft for daily flights to Detroit and Minneapolis.

The airport saw a 50% decline in boardings in 2020 but stayed above the 10,000 threshold needed to qualify for at least $1 million annually in federal Airport Improvement Program funds. There were 15,235 boardings in 2021 and the 10,000 mark has already been surpassed this year. There were a record 22,980 boardings in pre-pandemic 2019.

An expansion or replacement of the Fontana Terminal likely will be needed if Ford Airport is to ever host larger aircraft, according to county officials. A $140,000 study by civil engineers Prein & Newhof of Grand Rapids may be completed by the end of the year, paid with federal funds.

On Thursday, the county board heard from representatives of Minneapolis-based Alliiance, an architectural firm evaluating terminal designs that could be presented to the Federal Aviation Administration for approval. The current schedule, which depends on funding and other factors, puts construction in 2025 or 2026.

Board members also got a chance to inspect the new Oshkosh Striker aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle recently put into service. Federal funds paid the bulk of the $774,000 cost, with the county contributing a 5% share, or roughly $39,000.