The Midwestern hub of St. Louis has recently finished an expansion on the downtown airport that seeks to invite more corporate and private jet charter business into the city with expanded runways designed to accommodate larger corporate jets weighing up to 200,000 pounds. The primary runway has been reopened and the final upgrades and expansions are being finished, with the entire project expecting to be completed within the next month.
St. Louis may not be a business hub on the same level with Chicago, New York or Los Angeles, but the bustling little city has been seeing a steady increase in corporate aircraft over the last several years that caught many planners by surprise. As such the airport has had to be expanded and updated to keep up with the influx of corporate jets and to attract new business in the form of visiting sports teams. The increase in private jet charter business will also help boost many local companies that provide auxiliary services to the corporate jets, such as refueling and maintenance. The expansions allow larger aircraft to use the landing strip, hopefully attracting a new class of business to bolster the existing commerce and bring new vitality to the city.
The project is expected to be finished within the next month. The primary runway will be closed in the upcoming week for surface grooving and other safety upgrades before the project is complete. Once finished the new runways will be able to accommodate corporate jets like the Boeing 757 and Airbus 320, which can weigh up to several hundred thousand pounds. The airport is already one of the busiest in the region, and the increased business is expected to make it even more important as a regional hub for business.