The Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) on July 24, announced it is ranked as the 22nd largest airport in the nation for air cargo volume, up from a ranking of 31 in 2016. Each year the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces the rankings based off of required reporting information from air cargo airlines. RFD is ranked ahead of major airports such as San Francisco International, Salt Lake City International, Minneapolis-St. Paul International, Boston Logan International, Orlando International and Baltimore-Washington International.
“We are very proud of the air cargo boom that is taking place at RFD,” said Mike Dunn, executive director at RFD. “Our growth and success are a result of our tremendous partnerships with public and private entities and we expect to see our numbers continue to rise.”
Nearly 1.4 billion pounds of cargo traveled through RFD in 2017, a 50 percent increase over the year before. One of the many factors influencing the airport’s growth in 2017 included UPS moving its Des Moines operation, consisting of 13 daily flights, to RFD last July.
The airport expects to see even greater results for 2018. As of the end of June, RFD has seen nearly 996 million pounds of landed weight, more than the airport saw in total just two years ago in 2016. Early indicators show that RFD could see more than 2 billion pounds travel through the airport by year’s end, approximately an 80 percent increase over 2017.
“The numbers we are seeing so far this year are just amazing,” said Zach Oakley, deputy director of operations and planning at RFD. “We expect to continue to climb this list as we have plenty of room to accommodate additional operations. With our dynamic team and strong partnerships at the airport, I don’t see this growth slowing any time soon.”
The airport continues to receive federal funding to support expansions. Officials expect support to continue as RFD has more than 1,000 acres of land for additional projects. Earlier this month, the airport celebrated the groundbreaking of its new 120,000-square-foot building expansion at the Chicago Rockford International Airport Cargo Center along with the start of construction on a new $3.5 million ramp for cargo aircraft parking.
RFD’s cargo success has also had a huge economic impact for the Rockford region. Nearly 1,000 jobs have been created since the beginning of this year. Jobs included both permanent and seasonal positions through new and existing tenants as well as construction-related jobs to support the growth. The airport expects to see an additional 1,000 jobs added during the remainder of 2018 and throughout 2019.
