Monett Airport opens new 6,001 foot runway

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - The Monett Regional Airport recently finished constructing a 6,001-foot runway allowing bigger planes to land safely and more businesses to use the airport.

Monett leaders began the runway renovation project in 2021 and are now ready to welcome more air traffic. The project cost $30 million and was paid for through jet fuel tax and grants from the Missouri Department of Transportation.

This new runway allows bigger planes to use the airport, and businesses can transport more employees to other locations. The larger runway also provides more significant safety margins for pilots to land their planes. With the airport’s growth, Monett officials expect to see a significant economic impact.

“We’re able to bring more economic activity because these transient pilots, they do come in, they fly in, they eat in our restaurants, they shop at our local businesses,” said Monett City Administrator Christopher Weiner. “We’re really excited about what the future holds. Just by being able to have a larger runway. That means a lot of economic activity just continues to grow even further.”

The airport currently brings around $13 million annually to the local economy.

“We’re really excited that the economic impact for our committee is going to be terrific,” said Weiner. “We’re currently ranked prior to this expansion as the ninth most economic impact for an airport in the state. And so certainly we just expect that to continue to grow.”

To celebrate the opening of the new runway, the city is hosting a fly-in with a car show, breakfast, and the chance to see some airplanes use the new runway. The celebration is from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and is free to attend.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com

Copyright 2023 KY3. All rights reserved.