The regional business community appears to be hopping on-board with plans for a major revamp of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
Their boarding pass? A study , released Monday by Greater St. Louis Inc., which says the airport’s economic output is a major engine, to the tune of 100,000 jobs, but could stall if the area doesn’t keep up with peer cities. It could also cruise to 133,000 jobs by 2032.
“We’re in the bottom 20 percent of our peers for this asset, so we have got to act with urgency,” GSL CEO Jason Hall tells KMOX. “That would put us at risk with [recently retained] headquarters and extending that momentum to get more if we do not make these investments.”
The business group says 80 percent of regions similar to St. Louis, like Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Nashville, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, and more have revamped their airports.
Some of these metros, particularly Nashville and Kansas City, are, like St. Louis, large stations for Southwest Airlines, whose hub-like behavior here has resulted in the addition of connecting flights at a rapid clip.