Chicago Rockford International Airport has received $18.6 million in grant money from the federal CARES Act. Much of the money will be put toward operational expenses during the pandemic. Zack Oakley is Deputy Director of Operations and Planning for the airport. He said, with reduced passenger service, the airport is facing financial stress.
"It’s not just the landing fee, but the parking and concession fees, rental car fees. There’s a lot of revenue that’s created based off passengers. Off cargo, our biggest generation is just the landing fee of the aircraft."
Oakley says the funds are reserved for the airport itself, and not cargo partners such as UPS and Amazon.