WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Kit Bond and House Minority Whip Roy Blunt today announced that $5 million in federal construction funds for the Springfield-Branson National Airport Terminal have been released by the U.S. Department of Transportation.



“This is great news for the region. This latest installment of federal funds is key to continuing this important project,” said Senator Kit Bond, ranking member on the Senate Transportation-Treasury-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee. “These funds will provide for the continued expansion of the Springfield-Branson airport, which is critical to meet the growing demand for air service in southwest Missouri.”




"Southwest Missouri is a great place to visit and an even better place to call home," Blunt said. "These federal funds will help increase air service to the Springfield-Branson airport and grow our economy -- a win-win."




The $5 million will be used to continue the construction of the replacement airport terminal – this is the fourth phase of construction. Bond and Blunt have directed millions of dollar in improvements to the Springfield-Branson National Airport to keep the airport’s facilities modern and provide state of the art safety.



With rapidly growing population rates, workforce, and tourism industry, southwest Missouri’s demand for commercial air service is far exceeding the current operational capacity at the Springfield-Branson National Airport. Bond and Blunt stressed that expanded airfield and terminal capacity is needed to meet this growing demand. In addition to the inability of the old terminal to meet today’s passenger loads which causes long waiting periods for ticketing, security and baggage handling, the terminal is unable to accommodate current Transportation Security Administration functions in a manner that expedites travel.