St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL)
The primary commercial airport providing scheduled air service for the bi-state St. Louis region, St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) is the largest and busiest airport in Missouri. Hosting operations of 12 airlines with Southwest Airlines offering the most daily flights, it served just under 16 million passengers in calendar year (CY) 2024 and was ranked as the 33rd busiest airport nationwide in terms of total passengers by the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA). The airport also handled 160 million pounds of air cargo in 2023 – including livestock. With all this activity, the airport generates significant business revenues, jobs, and incomes as an economic hub.
In October 2025, STL announced British Airways will begin offering direct flights from STL to London’s Heathrow Airport, starting in April of 2026. This is in addition to the direct international service to Frankfurt, Germany, which launched in June of 2022 and will be expanding from three flights per week to five next summer. Many St. Louis businesses have an international reach, so these direct connections to Europe are a crucial step in growing the region and making it easier to do business here.
In May of 2023, St. Louis Lambert International Airport received initial federal approval for an estimated $3 billion plan to consolidate its two terminals into one new, single passenger concourse and replace the parking garage with a larger one. In August 2024, $650M was authorized for engineering work and, soon after, the Federal Aviation Administration ruled that there was no significant environmental impact expected from the project. In January 2025, HOK was selected as the design team. If all goes as planned, the project could break ground in early 2027 with completion anticipated in 2032.
According to a new report released by Greater St. Louis, Inc. in early 2023, St. Louis Lambert International Airport could add nearly $5 billion in annual economic impact and support nearly 30,000 new jobs in the metro area by 2032. (Learn more about STL’s economic impact here)
St. Louis Downtown Airport (KCPS)
Located just minutes from downtown St. Louis and the Gateway Arch in Cahokia Heights and Sauget, Illinois, St. Louis Downtown Airport (KCPS) is positioned as the St. Louis region’s downtown front door for business aviation. An FAA-designated National General Aviation Reliever Airport, CPS consistently ranks among the top five busiest airports in Illinois due to its strategic location and bustling flight training programs. CPS contributes more than $422 million in annual economic impact for the region, according to the latest study released in 2021 by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).
The airport supports significant activity from recreational and business flying to flight instruction from Saint Louis University’s Oliver L. Park Department of Aviation Science, the nation’s oldest flight school, along with Ideal Aviation and St. Louis Flight Training. In addition to several aircraft and helicopter maintenance organizations, tenants include Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.’s second largest footprint in the world, both delivering and maintaining Gulfstream aircraft. Gulfstream is just one of 25 aerospace businesses at CPS, which also is home to more than 160 based aircraft.
The airport is a major employer, contributing to more than 1,500 full-time and part-time jobs in the region. A recent expansion completed by Gulfstream in May 2025 is boosting that number by an estimated 200 positions.
Significant infrastructure projects supporting the evolving needs of tenants and customers include a new $27 million taxiway that is under construction, and new terminal, which recently secured $3.6 million in funding.
Owned and operated by Bi-State Development, CPS is a premier option for safe, convenient, and private air service in the St. Louis region offering easy landside and airside access, great passenger and crew amenities and a robust variety of world-class Fixed Base Operator (FBO) services through Jet Aviation.
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV)
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, a commercial service airport in St. Clair County, Illinois, is a $3.1 billion economic engine for the bi-state St. Louis region. The airport is a joint-use military/civilian facility including MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in partnership with Scott Air Force Base (SAFB) and is governed by the St. Clair County Public Building Commission. In addition to significant air carrier activity, BLV sees regular usage for corporate/business, military, air cargo operations, aerospace manufacturing, and aerospace technology research. The facility accounts for approximately 23,500 jobs between the operations at the airport, SAFB and various tenants.
BLV is located in Mascoutah, Illinois, in the eastern portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area, with easy access to five interstate highways via I-64. Low-cost passenger service to a dozen destinations is offered by Allegiant. The airport has an annual capacity of 200,000 operations. Significant tenants include Boeing, North American Helicopter and North Bay Produce.
Boeing announced in 2021 it would be investing $200 million in a new, 300,000 square-foot manufacturing facility at BLV. Scheduled to be operational in 2025, it initially will employ approximately 150 mechanics, engineers and support staff who will build the MQ-25 Stingray, the Navy’s first operational, carrier-based unmanned aircraft.
Airport leadership shared in October 2025 that BLV has welcomed record passenger enplanements in six of the last seven months. In anticipation of this and future growth, the airport opened its new $34 million terminal expansion in summer of 2023 and completed a $37 million Taxiway Lima project to serve the Boeing expansion and other future tenants. Construction is underway to add a new General Aviation Facility and Federal Inspection Station for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The new MetroLink extension from Scott Air Force Base to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport is expected to open in summer 2026 to serve both passengers and tenants.
St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN)
At the crossroads of major interstate and Illinois highways, St. Louis Regional Airport is centered on 2,300 acres in flourishing southwestern Illinois only 30 minutes from downtown St. Louis. This general aviation airport accounts for more than 1,500 jobs and an annual economic impact of $479.5 million, serving a diverse clientele from private aviators to Fortune 500 companies, the U.S. military, and regional aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul customers.
Its role as an economic engine for the region is largely driven by tenant West Star Aviation, which has more than 600 employees on site and counting. West Star Aviation has ranked as the top maintenance, repair and overhaul services provider for 10 consecutive years in Professional Pilot magazine’s annual survey.
With West Star serving as the airport’s Fixed Base Operator (FBO), pilots can expect prompt fueling, quality maintenance, aircraft rental and a full-service pilot’s lounge. Pilots also appreciate the fast, tower-guided approach to St. Louis Regional with wide, long runways able to accommodate aircraft as large as a C-5A or Boeing 747. Around the clock security, firefighting and rescue capabilities rank St. Louis Regional Airport with large hub airports in readiness.
The airport has several sites totaling more than 600 acres available for future development and various facility improvements have been completed at the airport in recent years. This includes a $5.5 million runway rehabilitation project completed in September 2023 and a $20 million expansion by West Star Aviation completed in August 2024. A proposed taxiway rehabilitation project, fuel facility improvements, and apron construction projects will also enhance the experience at ALN.
St. Louis Regional Airport hosts numerous community-focused events to include the annual Fly-in and Car Show for families, featuring an assortment of modern aircraft, a number of ultra-lights, several helicopters, and, occasionally, even historic planes, in addition will be the host for the 2026 Air Race Classic Start.
Spirit Of St. Louis Airport (SUS)
Spirit of St. Louis Airport celebrated its 60th Anniversary on November 5, 2024! Spirit of St. Louis Airport is the busiest business aviation airport in the FAA Central Region and is consistently second or third busiest of all airports in the region and one of the highest rated when it comes to FAA Annual 139 Air Carrier Certification Inspections.
Spirit is the Business Aviation Center of the Midwest and, as one of five Ports of Entry in Missouri, clears more than 330 international arrivals per year. As one of busiest airports in the region, only behind STL, Spirit has nearly 155,000 operations per year.
A self-supporting Enterprise Fund of St. Louis County Government, Spirit has strong reserves and receives no taxpayer dollars from the General Revenue Fund. It also gives back to community through the Spirit of St. Louis Air Show, supporting STEM education and our veterans. The airport also is proud to be a partner in the Red Tail Cadet Program, which offers young people from Ferguson, MO, the opportunity to learn to fly and gain other valuable life experiences at Spirit.
We’re a small, mighty staff of 11. So, we like to rely on our partnerships, whether it’s Hanson Professional Services, the Leadership Council, Bethalto Chamber of Commerce or River Bend Growth Association, and even the other airport directors are very helpful.