The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded $763,000 to the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport in Clay County. The funds, from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, will be used to update the airport’s master plan.
“Airports aren’t just travel hubs, they’re also vital job centers and the economic lifeblood of entire communities and regions. Thanks to the president’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we have funding to improve airports of all sizes around the country, creating new jobs and helping get people where they need to go,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The project will also update the airport layout plan to address key issues and goals for the airport development.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $15 billion over five years. Airports have until the end of fiscal year 2025 to use their fiscal year 2022 AIG allocations.
Dedicated by Charles Lindbergh in 1927, Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport is the city’s first airport and still one of its busiest. Originally home to commercial aviation, the airport now attracts a large number of corporate, charter and recreational flyers.
Located on 695 acres in Clay County, Downtown Airport is just across the Missouri River from Kansas City’s business center. Airport users have easy access to all interstate highways that serve the metropolitan area, as well as other major thoroughfares. The airport also serves as an ideal refueling stop for air travelers thanks to its central geographic location.
Up to 700 aircraft per day take off or land at the airport – everything from single-engine propeller craft to sleek corporate jets. The facility and its control tower are open 24 hours a day and consistently rank highly among private and corporate pilots for their full range of service to general aviation. Fixed-base operators service nearly 300 based aircraft, as well as itinerant and charter aircraft, offering fuel, full maintenance, aircraft rentals, sales and flight training.
