The morning of October 21, Bishop International Airport Authority held a ribbon cutting ceremony and news conference for their new deicing pad. Guest speakers included Congressman Dale Kildee; Genesee County Commissioner, Patrick Gleason; Flint Mayor, Dayne Walling; Bishop International Airport Authority Chairperson, Guy Briggs, Airport Director, Jim Rice; and Tim Herman, CEO of the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce. The news conference was followed by the ribbon cutting on the deicing pad.
The $5.646 million dollar project was primarily funded by two Federal Aviation Administration grants. The first was for $3.5 million and the second for $1.8 million. Congressman Dale Kildee said, “I am proud of the funding I have helped secure for Bishop Airport. As Bishop continues to improve and expand, it will draw increased business investment to our region and improve service for our community. Bishop’s success has always been one of my highest priorities and I will continue to work to help it serve our local communities and expand our economy for years to come.” The Michigan Department of Transportation also contributed $146,000, and the Bishop International Airport Authority locally matched their funds with an additional $146,000.
Airport Director, Jim Rice: “I would like to thank Congressman Kildee for his support in obtaining the funds needed for this project. As always, he was there to assist us in getting the grants needed to keep our airport growing. Additionally, we have always been a good steward of our environment. With the addition of this deicing pad, we can reduce the chances of possible environmental impact (of both aircraft and pavement deicing) even more. As always, we want to do all we can to prevent the exposure of storm water runoff to deicing fluid.”
Flint Bishop International Airport (FNT) is “The smart way to fly.” Flint offers the lowest average airfares in the state. It is also the most centrally located low-fare portal to Michigan, making “Pure Michigan, Purely Affordable.” The facility is served by AirTran Airways, with nonstop jet service to Tampa, Orlando, Ft. Myers and Atlanta; American Eagle with jet service to Chicago O’Hare; Continental Connection, with Cleveland service; Delta with jet flights to Atlanta, Minneapolis and Detroit; and by Frontier Airlines, featuring nonstop jet service to Milwaukee. For reservations and flight information from Flint, visit our web site at bishopairport.org.
For additional information, contact the Bishop International Airport Authority Director of Marketing and Public Relations at (810) 235-6560, ext. 120.