Six Month Project Was Part of $34 Million In Airfield Improvements

MOLINE, ILLINOIS         Rehabilitation of the main 10,000 ft. runway at the Quad City International Airport, known as 9/27 is just days away from final completion.  A ceremony today featuring Dr. Susan Shea, Director of Aeronautics for Illinois, Susan Schalk, Airports Division Manager, Great Lakes region for the FAA, a representative from Senator Durbin's office, and other area dignitaries will commemorate this milestone with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 12:00 noon.  The ceremony will take place on the airfield near the "bulls-eye" where three of the airport runways intersect.  The rehabilitated runway 9/27 will feature 47,000 cubic yards of new concrete.  Paved asphalt shoulders on each side of 9/27 are an added safety enhancement.

Construction started in mid-April, and all three runways have been shut down for the past six months.  During this time a temporary runway of 6,500 feet in length was used (runway 10/28.)  The project remained on target throughout the season and will be completed one month ahead of schedule.  Planning for this major phase began in 2007, and encompassed $34 million in total airfield improvements.  Funding for the improvements has come from local, state and federal resources.  "The Quad City International Airport is a critical transportation link that is key to the region's economy," said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL).  "This runway will help put the airport in the strongest possible position to compete for better air service and aviation development projects and contribute to the long term ability of the Quad City Airport to serve travelers safely, securely, and efficiently.  It is a great example of Recovery Act funding at work."

Bruce Carter, Director of Aviation says "Planning for this project started in 2007.  We are finishing the third stage of a four-stage plan and we are very pleased with the cooperation that was achieved through the efforts of the FAA, the Division of Aeronautics, the engineers and contractors.  Hundreds of jobs were created in the fields of concrete, asphalt, earthwork, electrical, and trucking.  This infrastructure improvement will take us well into the future." Carter adds, "While today is ceremonial in nature, we are ready to open all three of our runways to arrivals and departures next weekend.  This is an exciting time in history for the Quad City International Airport and for our travelers."

The fourth and final phase of the overall project will be completed next year, when the temporary runway used during the construction period converts to a taxiway, which will be called Taxiway P "Papa."  
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(Moline/Quad Cities)  A small private Cessna aircraft which originated from Chicago-Midway, landed today at the Quad City International Airport at approximately 11:00 a.m. with two passengers aboard.  Upon landing, their aircraft exited the runway and flipped into the snow, causing only minor injuries.  The pilot from Missouri and one passenger from Kansas were taken to a local hospital.  Our first priority was tending to the passengers.  Our second priority then became removing the aircraft from its location, in order to re-open our main runway to commercial traffic (arrivals and departures.) This caused a handful of delays for commercial airline arrivals and departures late this morning and into the noon hour.

The main runway at the QCIA re-opened for commercial arrivals and departures shortly after 1:00 p.m.  There were four commercial aircraft diversions to other regional airports while the runway was closed.  Three of the four inbound aircraft relocated back to the QCIA once the main airport runway re-opened.  One inbound flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul diverted to Cedar Rapids, but did not relocate to the Quad Cities.  However, there was out-bound aircraft for those Minneapolis-St. Paul passengers who were waiting to depart here in the Quad Cities.

Officials at the Quad City International Airport would like to thank all affected travelers for their patience today.  Officials and public safety personnel attended to this matter as quickly as possible, with safety for all in mind during this process.

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325 Daily Seats to Atlanta Remain

MOLINE, IL (August 10, 2010) -- Late this morning, the Metropolitan Airport Authority was officially notified by AirTran Airways that service would be discontinued from Moline to Atlanta, effective November 30, 2010. Service to Orlando, the world's most popular tourist destination, will continue with four non-stop flights per week.

AirTran will begin new non-stop service from the Quad Cities to Fort Myers, FL beginning in the first quarter of 2011. The flight schedule for the Fort Myers service has not yet been announced. Preliminary discussions indicate Fort Myers service would be on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, complimenting the Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday service to Orlando.

AirTran's difficult decision comes after years of strong competition in the Moline/Atlanta marketplace. Delta continues to offer five daily non-stop flights to and from Atlanta on 65-seat aircraft with first class options, convenient flights times, low matching fares and strong global connection opportunities with over 1,000 departures to 226 non-stop destinations from Atlanta.

"Although we are disappointed with AirTran's decision regarding Atlanta," says Bruce Carter, Director of Aviation, "we are pleased that they will be maintaining service to Orlando and adding a new non-stop destination for our Fort Myers passengers."

The Airport Authority continues to explore new non-stop opportunities with AirTran, American, United and Delta, as well as advocating bringing additional new low-cost carriers into the marketplace. The Quad City International Airport remains a strong regional competitive choice for nearly one million travelers annually, with non-stop service to eight major hubs.

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MARCH COMES IN LIKE A LION AT QCIA

More flights to be added in June, 2010

( Moline/Quad Cities) March enplanements at the Quad City International Airport exceeded 40,000 passengers,  Bruce Carter announced today at the Metropolitan Airport Authority monthly board meeting. "While this was technically the fourth best March on record, we consider any month that we enplane forty-thousand passengers or more to be a very strong travel month," Carter said. 41,296 passengers were enplaned which is up 3% over last March. The airport is up 1% overall compared to last year. Last month, spring break travelers filled the parking lot and the perimeter, which was expanded in 2009.

Earlier this month, Delta added more flights to two existing cities. On April 6, flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul increased from two to three flights per day. An additional flight was added to Atlanta the same day. In early June, one additional Memphis and Detroit flight will be added to the current schedule. "We are very pleased that these flights have been added this month," Bruce Carter, Director of Aviation, said. "Once the Memphis and Detroit flights are added in June, we will have a total of 220 additional seats into the daily schedule. This gives our travelers more choices when making their plans."

AirTran Airways has made a change to their 5:35 a.m. departure to Atlanta. Effective April 6, the departure time changed to 6:35 a.m.  On May 27, the AirTran afternoon arrival that currently returns from Atlanta in the 5:00 p.m. hour will land at 6:01 p.m.  That flight will then depart to Atlanta at 6:36 p.m.

The Quad City International Airport offers nonstop service to 8 cities on 4 major airlines, and strives to make travel 'easier' for passengers from throughout Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois.

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Remember- Honor Flight of the Quad Cities will be taking their #6 and #7 flights this Friday, 4/23, and Saturday, 4/24 to Washington D.C. Flights depart at 7:00 a.m. Passengers begin arriving at 5:30 a.m. Flight participants are scheduled to return somewhere between 10:15 - 10:30 p.m. to a welcome home celebration filled with relatives and more. The public is welcome to attend.