Forwarders’ Forum: Proposed Peotone Airport expansion

Psychologist Abraham Maslow once said that if the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. As a result, many community initiatives fail because they are not as helpful as initially thought. A proposed Chicago-area airport in the south suburbs is an example of an idea that, while well-intentioned, is unnecessary and will likely deprive existing air facilities of required funding and opportunity. Expanding the tiny Peotone Airport is a solution looking for a problem. The air cargo spike during the pandemic, driven mainly by e-commerce, is reinvigorating the idea of expanding Peotone Airport in response to warehouse and logistics growth nearby. A bill is pending in the Illinois Legislature that, if successful, would begin soliciting proposals from developers to build the facility. The Peotone idea was proposed as a solution to O’Hare International Airport’s (ORD) inability to expand its geographic footprint, but no passenger airline expressed interest. Since then, O’Hare has grown its cargo capacity by 50% and jumped to the seventh-largest cargo airport in the U.S. Most major passenger carriers, along with several freighter airlines and forwarders serve O’Hare today, offering belly and main-deck capacity. Area cargo options Over the past few years, Rockford International Airport (RFD), 65 miles west of Chicago, attracted UPS and Amazon Air facilities, and has become a popular destination for freight charters managed by forwarders. Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY), east of Chicago, has lots of capacity and recently signed a five-year agreement with UPS for air cargo services. In addition, the airport received congressional funding in the most recent budget cycle to expand its cargo operations. Even Midway International Airport (MDW) has seen increasing cargo success with its redevelopment focused on Southwest Airlines as its primary tenant with substantial belly cargo operations. An expensive proposition Building an airport is an expensive proposition. Expanding Peotone will require constructing additional highway access, a 10,000-foot runway and the corresponding infrastructure that could cost up to $2 billion. Taxpayers have already paid $97 million for existing land, and more is needed. Further, Illinois taxpayers will likely need to guarantee more funding to expand the existing small Peotone Airport into an airfreight panacea that, with no passenger or freighter airlines, may never pay for itself. Freight forwarders serving Chicago need access to the many airlines, schedule frequency and various aircraft that are available at O’Hare. However, these flights must be accessible without unnecessary delays in cargo handling. But O’Hare’s challenging road infrastructure, competitive labor environment, slow credentialing process and a lack of appointment-setting automation continue to contribute to trucking congestion, despite the redevelopment of some of its cargo areas. Nevertheless, forwarders managing charters see Rockford as a viable, less congested alternative for their freighter flights serving Chicago and the Midwest. Instead of funneling precious funds to Peotone, with no expressed freight carrier or investor interest, Illinois should invest in making O’Hare less congested. Chicago taxpayers and the federal government must address O’Hare’s truck access issues through investment capital projects focusing on improving its physical cargo infrastructure. Illinois should also ensure Rockford has adequate funding to accommodate a growing passenger market expected as Chicago communities continue their anticipated expansion to the west. Consultants hired by Illinois looked at alternative uses for the Peotone Airport, including the potential to become a hub for electric vehicle manufacturing, research and design. Experts assert that the site’s size and location make it potentially attractive to the industry. And, as electric vehicle use increases in the next few years, this suggestion has more merit than expanding the airport. Prudent investment? “If you build it, they will come” may be a whispered phrase used in a popular baseball movie but it will only serve as an ineffective justification for expanding Peotone Airport. Building a new airport, expanding runways and constructing additional highway interchanges hoping that airlines will appear is not a prudent investment for the state and the people of Illinois. Taxpayers rely on their elected officials for sound decision-making, which does not include a new airport south of Chicago with no anticipated need. The steel mills and factories once dotting the Chicago Southland are gone. Without their economic spark and a lack of air carrier interest, an expanded Peotone Airport will never see success. Investing in the other existing area airports, including O’Hare, Midway, Rockford and even Gary, will be a better use of tax dollars, hitting the nail on the head in continuing the Chicago area’s air cargo prominence.

Forwarders’ Forum: Proposed Peotone Airport expansion

Brandon Fried, Executive Director, Airforwarders Association

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