Two international cargo airports
FTZ
Five airports with developable land within Foreign Trade Zones
The St. Louis region includes two international cargo airports (St. Louis-Lambert International Airport and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport) and several other regional airports with amenities beneficial to freight movement, including financial benefits from Foreign Trade Zones and Enterprise Zones, access to adjacent developable land, multiple modes of transportation, cold storage for perishable goods, and 24/7 operations 365 days a year, free of noise limitations.
St. Louis Region’s Five Busiest Airports
- St. Louis Lambert International Airport – St. Louis, MO
- Spirit of St. Louis Airport – Chesterfield, MO
- MidAmerica St. Louis Airport – Mascoutah, IL
- St. Louis Downtown Airport – Cahokia Heights, IL
- St. Louis Regional Airport – Bethalto, IL
St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL)
Lambert International—the region’s primary cargo airport—serves an important role in the region’s freight network, providing another option to move cargo. Annual tonnage moved has seen increases since the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the airport moved 160 million pounds of cargo for dedicated freighters such as UPS, FedEx, Amazon, DHL and more as well as belly cargo moved from passenger airlines.
An uptick in livestock purchased from the U.S. by Asian and South American countries has presented additional opportunities for continued growth at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, as it is one of the few airports in the nation able to ship such cargo to foreign destinations as a prime spot for dedicated freighter operations.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport celebrated its first-ever live animal export in November 2020, shipping more than 200 breeding pigs to Sao Paulo, Brazil. The shipment to Brazil demonstrated an aggressive new strategy for overseas exports at STL. (Photos courtesy of St. Louis City/St. Louis Lambert International Airport)
In other aviation related news, Lufthansa Airlines launched direct flights from St. Louis Lambert International Airport to Frankfurt Germany in June 2022, marking the return of direct service to Europe for the first time in 20 years.
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV)
BLV offers excellent logistical advantages and temperature-controlled environments, making it a strategic solution for cargo movement within the supply chain. Their air cargo success is a result of low operating cost and lack of congestion. The airport is equipped to manage the world’s largest aircraft with precision approaches to 10,000 foot (3048 meters) and 8,500 foot (2,438 meters) runways.
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport’s central location – immediately off Interstate 64 approximately 20 minutes from downtown St. Louis – is ideal for meeting logistical requirements for cargo being moved by both large and small businesses. The Airport supports an onsite U.S. Customs Facility and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport is also part of Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) #31.
Air Cargo Services available at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport include:
- Parking positions for four 747-8F
- Cargo loading and off-loading – forklift
- Crew and ground handling
- FBO / Jet-A fuel
- GSE services
- 24/7 availability
The Illinois Legislature allocated $96 million to pay for a long-sought Metro East extension of the region’s MetroLink light rail system to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport. Construction on the approximate 5-mile route got underway in 2023 and is targeted for completion in 2026.
Learn more about the St. Louis Region’s robust aerospace and aviation ecosystem:
Take Flight Forum
St. Louis Regional Freightway held the inaugural Take Flight Forum on Nov. 16, 2022. The event hosted the directors of the five busiest airports in the bi-state region for an insightful panel discussion that underscored the St. Louis region’s position as a vibrant commercial and general aviation hub. The second annual Take Flight Forum was held November 8, 2023, and brought back the airport directors while also convening representatives of some of the region’s most significant aerospace manufacturing and service companies.