The Chicago Rockford International Airport is now the 22nd busiest airport in the nation for cargo volume. The airport rose from a ranking of 31st in 2016. Airport Executive Director Mike Dunn said Rockford has the necessary infrastructure to support both cargo and passenger operations.
“Well, it’s been a curious contemplation by myself and people at the airport to determine what would come or explode first at the airport -- the cargo operations or the passenger operations, and obviously, it’s the cargo operations,” Dunn said.
Close to 1.4 billion pounds of cargo traveled through the Chicago Rockford International Airport last year. This year, more than 2 billion pounds of cargo are expected to make their way through. Dunn said the growth is expected to continue in the coming years.
“’17 was significantly higher than ’16, and ’18 will be significantly higher than ’17,” he said. “So where we go, yes, we anticipate more growth. I don’t know at what rate.”
Dunn said the airport’s growth has created 1,000 new jobs this year and may create another 1,000 jobs through next year.