Passengers enthusiastic about service amenities at MidAmerica Airport
Assets: no crowds, easy access, low fares
Mascoutah, IL (August 21, 2000) -- Nick Milster stood behind the security checkpoint at MidAmerica Airport with little to do but sip coffee until passengers began checking in for the next flight out of MidAmerica Airport.
It's been six days since the often criticized airport began its first scheduled flights and although it is far from the busiest airport in the country, officials say it is on its way.
For the first time since the airport opened in 1997, luggage carousels are carrying bags to waiting travelers, television monitors display flight information and there are people waiting for flights.
"This is wonderful," said Pat Boehm of Collinsville while waiting to board a flight to Gary, Indiana, near Chicago. "There was no traffic to get here, the parking is free. I'll be a frequent traveler here."
Currently, the only passenger service out of MidAmerica Airport is provided by Pan Am, which offers flights to Gary; Sanford, Florida, near Orlando; Pittsburgh and Portsmouth, N.H., near Boston. The company is now negotiating with an airport in Lake of the Ozarks to offer commuter flights there as well.
Officials from Pan Am say they don't know how many passengers have passed through the gates since Pan Am launched its first flight Wednesday morning. "We've been very pleased, I can tell you that," said John Nadolny, a spokesman for Pan Am. "But it's only been a couple of days so we have no specific information right now."
Still, the excitement of seeing a plane land at an airport that sat idle for so long, wasn't lost on the handful of people waiting for flights.
On Thursday, one day after the inaugural flight, about 20 people were in the gate area, waiting for a flight from Sanford. Below, the ground crew, donning bright orange safety vests, were directing the plane and preparing to unload baggage. As Flight 232 from Sanford taxied down the 10,000-foot runway, the crowd gathered around the windows to watch.
"That's a good looking plane," said Scott Gibson of Centralia, who was waiting for his daughter. "I am really impressed with this, I'll tell you that." Gibson said he decided to try the airport because the air fares were good, as well as for convenience.
That's the same reason why Mike Ellsworth drove from Granite City to fly to Florida from MidAmerica Airport. Ellsworth said he preferred the slow pace of MidAmerica Airport to the hustle of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, where about 30 million passengers passed through the gates last year. "It isn't crowded," Ellsworth said. "I like that."
A.J. Balough, 10, of Pittsburgh likes that, too. "The other airports are always crowded," said A.J., who was getting ready to fly home Sunday to her dad in Ebensburg, Pa., after spending the summer with her morn, Anita Bohn, her stepdad, Kevin Bohn, and half-sister, 1-year-old Alicia Bohn, in Summerfield.
Anita Bohn liked the convenience, too. She said it takes five minutes to drive to MidAmerica Airport, while a trip to St. Louis can take an hour or more, depending on traffic. "She comes to visit every summer," Bohn said. "Usually we have to take her over to St. Louis, but this is really nice. We were able to go to church this morning."
Bohn said the flight from MidAmerica Airport cost less than any of the flights available from Lambert International Airport in St. Louis. "This was only $149," she said. "That's half the cheapest flight I've ever (gotten), and we don't have to pay to park here, either."
Information provided by the Belleville News-Democrat
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