On Nov. 13, the St. Louis Regional Freightway brought together leaders from five major airports for the 2025 Take Flight Forum, showcasing key achievements, economic impacts, and future investments shaping the region’s aviation landscape.
[ST. LOUIS, MO/Dec. 2, 2025] The St. Louis Regional Freightway welcomed leaders from five of the region’s busiest airports on Nov. 13 for the 2025 Take Flight Forum, where airport directors shared significant operational achievements, economic impacts and major capital investments shaping the region’s aviation landscape. Their insights highlighted a unified, collaborative regional ecosystem experiencing growth and preparing for continued expansion.
Mary Lamie, Executive Vice President of Multimodal Enterprises for Bi-State Development, opened the panel by noting that the region’s aviation sector plays an increasingly critical role in economic development. “Today’s panel discussions will serve as a powerful reminder of how deeply the aviation sector drives our regional economy,” said Lamie, who also leads the St. Louis Regional Freightway and its Aerospace and Aviation Task Force.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge discussed the airport’s recent passenger and cargo momentum, as well as the economic importance of new and expanding international service. She highlighted the new London route British Airways is launching in April and the expansion of Lufthansa’s service to Frankfurt from three days a week to five. “The London route is something we’ve been chasing for over a decade, so we’re really excited about that,” Hamm-Niebruegge said. She also discussed growth in cargo movement through her airport, noting she has seen cargo expanding from just 2% of the total market five years ago to 4% today.
Hamn-Niebruegge provided an update on the airport’s multi-phase $3 billion consolidated terminal project, sharing that the $114 million airfield maintenance project is underway as part of the $350 million first phase, and work is progressing on the $650 million second phase. She expects to be at 30% design of the terminal by January, 60% design by June and to be at the 90% design stage by the end of 2026, which is the actual mark where the airlines give the authority to construct. “Everybody in the region, whether it’s the political world, the business community, the airport or the airlines, everybody’s trying to get to that finish line,” Hamm-Niebruegge said.
Darren James, Director of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, highlighted the airport’s niche in the region as a smaller scale, non-hub airport serving the leisure market with non-stop flights through Allegiant to a dozen popular destinations and current work underway to attract additional low-cost carriers. He called attention to the airport’s continued record-setting passenger activity and the success of its newest route to Gulf Shores. “It’s been a record year for MidAmerica St. Louis Airport with a 27.5% increase in enplanements from January through October of this year versus last year,” James said. He added that the trend is expected to continue in 2026.
He also provided updates on the MetroLink extension, which will connect St. Louis Lambert International Airport directly to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport by summer 2026, and ongoing terminal modifications. Those include a new general aviation facility and federal inspection station under construction, which will pave the way for adding potential flights to the Caribbean, Mexico and Dominican Republic.
James also touched on the progress of Boeing’s new production facility for the MQ-25 Stingray, the unmanned air refueling platform that will operate off of aircraft carriers. He said testing is underway and barring any changes from Boeing, it is expected they will make their first official flights this December.
John Bales, Director of Spirit of St. Louis Airport, detailed the completion of the business aviation airport’s master plan and an unprecedented slate of capital improvement projects now underway or beginning soon, including the full rebuild of the main runway and plans for a new general aviation terminal that will double the size of the existing facility once funding is secured. He also highlighted public-private partnerships supporting needed infrastructure improvements and key investments being made at the airport by existing tenants, one of which just finished a 90,000-square-foot hangar space to work on larger jet aircraft, and by private aviators who were seeking additional hangar space.
“We met with some aviators who were also investors, and they had been on a waiting list at just about every airport in the region,” said Bales. “They said, you know what? We’re going to build our own . . . They’re building 28 brand new hangars. So that’s pretty exciting.”
He said the airport sees approximately 150,000 flight operations annually – including 300 international arrivals – and will soon be welcoming flights by music industry stars as the new Gateway Studios facility near the airport ramps up. Bales also highlighted the airport’s STEM-focused Spirit of St. Louis Airshow and celebrated the Red Tail Cadet Program’s historic first all-female graduating class, noting how programs like this that serve underprivileged youth help to strengthen the region’s talent pipeline.
St. Louis Regional Airport Director Daniel Adams reported a significant increase in flight operations in recent months. “Over the last calendar year, we’ve seen a 40% increase in flight activity…primarily due to the reintroduction of flight training at the airport,” Adams said. He highlighted a $1 million investment in the rehabilitation of Taxiway Bravo that will be underway in spring of 2026 and noted the FAA is interested in funding and building a new control tower at the airport.
He also discussed tenant growth and the impact of workforce development partnerships, including West Star Aviation’s expansion and its pipeline of 25 graduating students per class at its recently launched West Star Aviation Academy.
Adams previewed the Air Race Classic, which is an all-female piloted air race his airport will host next summer. He anticipates having about sixty aircraft and an estimated 120 participants descend upon the airport for a week of festivities and fun, briefings, weather planning and more before they take off on their four-day, 2,300-mile journey.
Sandra Shore, Director of St. Louis Downtown Airport, outlined major infrastructure projects underway or planned, including a new terminal, which recently was awarded $3.6 million in State of Illinois funding, and a new taxiway, which will represent an investment somewhere between $25 to $30 million. Shore noted that those infrastructure improvements are essential to support continued growth by existing and future tenants.
She cited as examples of recent tenant growth an aircraft management team’s construction of a new hangar facility and a flight maintenance tenant expanding their services and moving into a bigger facility.
“We also have the second largest Gulfstream footprint in the world, and they recently invested $30 million into their facility to expand, adding 200 jobs,” said Shore. ‘’We’re able to fill those jobs thanks to the region’s dominance as an aerospace hub and the collaboration that exists here.”
All the directors repeatedly emphasized the importance of collaboration, both in operational support and workforce development, and Lamie circled back to that in her reflection on the panel discussion.
“What’s really interesting when we have the five airport directors up here, is there may be a tendency for people to think that they’re competing with each other, but that’s not the case as they have each have their own platform, their own target market,” said Lamie. “But the other thing is, behind the scenes, there are hundreds of phone calls going between the directors, amongst their staff where they’re supporting each other, helping each other, and we’ve got staff moving from one airport to the other. That’s a good thing. It basically means that when we have staff at some of the smaller airports seeking advancement, they’re not leaving the area.”
The airport directors’ discussion was followed by a second panel featuring leaders from regional STEM and flight training programs who highlighted some of the focused efforts to engage students in the opportunities that the region’s growing aerospace and aviation ecosystem offers. Themed STEM to Sky!, this year’s forum was the fourth annual event aimed at fostering collaboration and showcasing both the investments and growth occurring at the region’s busiest airports and the innovative programs helping to inspire the next generation of aerospace and aviation professionals.
About St. Louis Regional Freightway
Established as the St. Louis region’s authority for coordinating support for industrial businesses and the logistics infrastructure they depend on, the St. Louis Regional Freightway (the Freightway) provides site selection and business assistance to manufacturing, logistics and multimodal transportation companies and their service providers. As an enterprise of Bi-State Development, the Freightway partners with public sector and private industry businesses to advocate for infrastructure development that supports the movement of freight, leads initiatives to grow the region’s talent pool, and plays a critical role in marketing the region as a world-class manufacturing and distribution cluster within the City of St. Louis and seven adjacent counties in Missouri and Illinois. To learn more, visit TheFreightway.com.
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