Detroit City Airport -- now officially Coleman A. Young International Airport -- could have commercial flights once again.
John Gallagher of the Detroit Free Press reports that Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has a proposal under the city's bankruptcy to spend millions on the terminal, Jetway for passengers and major upgrades.
Money would also be spent for a study on the airport's role in improving the east-side neighborhood around Conner and Gratiot that has been plagued by crime and poverty. Money would come from settlements with creditors.
“I look at Detroit city airport and think it is a jewel that nobody’s polished,” Michael Boyd, an aviation consultant and president of Colorado-based Boyd Group International told the Freep. “Our idea is that it could be the thing that revitalizes that entire area. The airport has huge value both as a facility and also in terms of revitalizing that whole area of Detroit.”
Over the years, the airport has had commercial airlines come and go including Southwest Airlines, Pro Air and Chautauqua Airlines.
Gallagher writes:
The facility — officially the Coleman A. Young International Airport — may soon get some of the new partnerships it needs. Officials are talking to two unidentified start-up regional carriers about providing scheduled passenger service, airport manager Jason Watt told the Free Press on Thursday. The planes would carry perhaps 75 to 100 passengers, providing flights to destinations such as Chicago, Boston and New York.
