DETROIT (AP) - City officials are considering closing Detroit’s struggling municipal airport and converting the area for other uses.
Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration will seek experts for a study it hopes will change the course of the financially troubled Coleman A. Young Municipal Airport, also known as City Airport, the Detroit News (https://detne.ws/2oDo3IY ) reported.
The airport hasn’t had regular service from a commercial airline in more than 15 years. Detroit-bound flights are currently using Detroit Metropolitan Airport, located in a nearby suburb.
The City Airport, which primarily handles cargo flights, is expected to have an operating loss of $1.3 million in the 2017 fiscal year.
The city hopes to make a decision by June to select consultants to analyze aviation and non-aviation uses for the area.
“You can’t continue with the status quo,” said Jed Howbert, executive director of Duggan’s jobs and economy team. “We’re going to let the facts lead us where they lead us. Whether it should be aviation - general or commercial - or something else, we need to understand what the options are.”
Any proposals for the airport would require approval of the City Council. But some council members have said they won’t support shutting down the airport.
“A city the size of Detroit having an international airport within its city boundaries is a rare asset,” Councilman Scott Benson said.
Benson said the city should work to actively use the airport to attract modern, commercial air companies.
The administration has set aside $200,000 to conduct the request for proposals.
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Information from: The Detroit News, https://detnews.com/
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