MAC Airports Buck COVID-19 Trend

The six general aviation airports operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) collectively grew operations in 2020

by two% to total 326,044, or 6,381 more takeoffs and landings than in 2019.

The general aviation airports are often referred to as reliever airports because they relieve congestion that would otherwise occur at the MAC's major airport, Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP).

More than half of all registered aircraft in Minnesota are based at the MAC's reliever airports.

The MAC's reliever airport system generates an estimated $756 million a year for the area economy and supports more than 3,600 jobs.

The increase bucks the trend of U.S. commercial airports which suffered steep declines in activity last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MSP reported a 40% decline in operations and a 62% decline in passengers in 2020.

Flying Cloud Airport (FCM) located in Eden Prairie, and Airlake Airport (LVN) located in Lakeville, drove the operations increase in the MAC reliever airport system.

Operations at FCM were up 19 percent, nearly 20,000 operations, over 2019. LVN activity increased by 5% over 2019, with nearly 1,500 additional operations in 2020.

While the pandemic forced steep declines in corporate travel and business jet activity, it appeared to open up opportunities for more flight training activities and leisure flying in general, said MAC Director of Reliever Airports Joe Harris.

"Aviation means a lot to people," Harris said. "Up at Anoka County-Blaine Airport (ANE) people who used to fly on average 10 or 20 hours a year flew approximately 50 hours in 2020."

Blaine Peterson is airport manager for Flying Cloud and Airlake. He noticed something different was going on in late April 2020.

"The snow was melting, and I think people were itching to get out a little bit more," Peterson said. It was smaller aircraft. Corporate traffic was almost non-existent."

Peterson vividly recalls May 12, 2020, when FCM became the 13th busiest airport in the country. Favorable weather again played a critical role.

"The sun was out, and we had light winds," he said. "The growth in airport activity was like a flower getting ready to burst into full bloom. I was sitting in my airport office, and one plane would takeoff, and another would land. It was just a great day to go flying."

The spike in operations occurred two months into the COVID-19 pandemic. Peterson said people needed to break free, and getting airborne provided the perfect antidote.

As the pandemic progressed, flight schools and certain reliever FBOs continued to encounter an increase in aviation students who were seeking continued instruction.

Aviation programs at the University of North Dakota (UND) and Minnesota State Mankato were shutting down, and students were forced to return home.

"Joe [Harris] asked me to find out about the sudden increase," Peterson said, adding 2019 was also an anomaly when it came to MAC operations.

"In 2020, with COVID-19, we were still breaking numbers," he said. "FBOs did identify it with the numbers of students that were coming into their businesses."

On June 19, 2020, FCM marked its eighth busiest day in the past decade with more than 750 flights.

Peterson said there was another segment of the population likely came into play.

"People working at home started asking themselves, 'Well, I'm getting really efficient with my workflow, and I have two or three hours that I'm not commuting in a car. I'm 15 minutes from a reliever airport. I've always wanted to fly. It's been on my bucket list. Let's go.' "

Flight schools at MAC reliever started seeing that type of clientele, Peterson said. Flying club members also took advantage of COVID downtime to sharpen skills.

When the MAC released its 2020 operations recap in early February, Peterson was stunned. He was waiting for the bottom to drop out regarding operations numbers.

"It didn't drop out," he said. "Month over month, it seemed like we were 15% to 20% above where we were in 2019, which was a banner year. To me, it was surprising."

And about the time reoccurrence trainee numbers eased back, Peterson said business traffic at the MAC's relievers started picking up and filling possible gaps.

Regionally and nationwide, Peterson said other airport systems haven't seen the reliever increases that the MAC has experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"They saw the initial reduction, but they aren't seeing the increases like we are," he said. "It's still the little guys who are continuing to fly and keep the economy going."

St. Paul Downtown Airport (STP), which serves more corporate flying activity, recorded a 26% decrease in operations. STP operations were also limited by reduced air traffic tower hours, also due to the pandemic.

The MAC's three remaining reliever airports – Lake Elmo (21D), Anoka County-Blaine (ANE), and Crystal (MIC) – each saw a less than five percent decrease in operations, with ANE down only 1%.

"As the last year demonstrated, there's a strong demand across our general aviation system. That's why it's so important we continue to invest in infrastructure to make the airports as safe and efficient as possible," said Brian Ryks, CEO of the MAC. "We completed a major runway extension and airfield reconfiguration project at Crystal in 2020, and this year we'll complete a major phase in a $5 million airfield project at Lake Elmo to extend the runway and a parallel taxiway that will incorporate the latest safety measures to support activities there."

The Lake Elmo project is less than half of the $11.5 million the MAC has budgeted for capital improvements at its general aviation airports in 2021.

Aviation demand is also spurring private investment. "I've talked with industry contemporaries in other parts of the country, and when I tell them that the MAC will have 40 new hangars built from the time of the pandemic heading into mid-summer 2021, they don't believe it," Harris said.