WOOD Radio Local News

WOOD Radio Local News

WOOD Radio Local News

 

Ford International to hold April groundbreaking for terminal expansion

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A groundbreaking ceremony will take place next month for a terminal-expansion project at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

The Airport Authority's chief operating officer/vice president, Alex Peric, provided some details Tuesday at the Gaines Chamber of Commerce's quarterly luncheon in Cutlerville. He said the ticket counters will be consolidated to one section of the terminal, and the baggage-claim section will be in a separate section.

Peric said a V-I-P lounge will open in March 2025 as part of the $110 million expansion of Concourse 'A'. The first phase of the project wrapped up last summer.

"It's not airline-specific. You won't need to be a certain airline passenger to access the second-story lounge," he said.

Three concessions areas have opened there, and more will be opened soon in Concourse A.

"It's a brew garden, a retail area in the middle there down in the common area, and then a market kind of district location with fresh-baked goods. We are opening up Freddy's (restaurant). So, Freddy's will open at the end of this month. Uccello's will open up sometime in the summer," Peric said.

Groundbreaking for a terminal expansion at Ford International is scheduled for April 10. Peric said the building will be extended to the west side, with the ticket counters for the various airlines being consolidated to one section rather than being on either side of the baggage-claim area. The baggage-claim will be in a separate section from the ticket counters.

Plans for a new control tower are in the design phase. Peric said the Federal Aviation Administration owns all the control towers across the country and Ford International has been trying to get it moved since 2009. He expects it will be relocated by the end of 2026 or early 2027.

Until then, Ford Airport cannot build a parking garage in the north lot or build large, tall hangars to accommodate general aviation or corporate aircraft.

"So, moving the tower's going to be critical," Peric said.

The airport authority is an independent body guided by a seven-member board. Peric said 3.79 million passengers walked through the gates at Ford Airport in 2023. And he said the findings of a study on the airport's economic impact on the region will be released to the public this spring. Ford International sits on 3,200 acres of land at 5500 44th St. SE.

Parking has expanded at Ford International, which recently opened an extension on the airport's economy lot. Pricing has gone up a bit, too.

"In the short-term area, we lifted the cap of $36 per day. So, now it's an hourly; $2 per hour with a daily rate of $48," Peric said.

The long-term garage parking is $24 daily. The north lot charges $17, and the other lots are $14 per hour.

Peric said Ford International offers non-stop flights to distant places like Houston and Los Angeles, although sometimes it is on a seasonal basis. He says there are 30 or more nonstop flights on any given day.

Ford Airport's newest carrier is Sun Country Airlines.

"They've been doing charters to Biloxi (Mississippi), Laughlin, Nevada, Atlantic City. But now they're going to be doing nonstop service to Minneapolis/St. Paul starting June 13th. And then, we'll try to convince them to do more, of course. And into Florida and maybe Las Vegas and Arizona," Peric said.

He noted that there are several airports that Ford International has to compete with for passengers. For example, there are commercial-service airports in Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Flint and in metro Detroit, plus two in Chicago.

"We're getting passengers all the way down from Traverse City, up from South Bend to fly out of our airport," Peric said. "So, we're really being the airport of West Michigan."

He said the average round-trip domestic flight out of Ford International is $377, which is above the national average but less than some other airports in the region.

About 14 years ago, the airport was the second-most expensive airport to fly out of in the country. Community leaders got together to entice AirTran Airways to begin nonstop service in Grand Rapids in 2010.

"It put downward pressure on overall fares," Peric said.

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A group of business leaders listen to Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority C.O.O./V.P. Alex Peric, discuss plans for the airport at the Crossroads Conference Center in Cutlerville. Photo: Photos taken by James Gemmell


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