Airport
Misc
- GR Ford International Airport History Page : the "new" [current] airport became fully operational on November 23rd, 1963. The Kent County Airport because the Kent County International Airport on January 27th, 1977 with the addition of the Customs Bureau Office to the terminal.
Ridership
The Kent County International Airport supports 30% - 40% the annual passengers of the The Rapid on an annual basis; comparing the maximum (30%) and minimum (40%) years.
News
Note: While new flight options or destinations may make the news, the termination of options or the dropping of destinations rarely does. The robustness of connectivity cannot be tracked by news coverage.
- 2012-01
- 2014-04
- 2014-05
- American Airlines to offer additional non-stop flights at Ford Airport as merger continues
- "Airport leaders announced American Airlines will launch twice daily flights to Philadelphia and Charlotte, N.C., beginning Sept. 3, complementing service to Chicago and Dallas. US Airways' regional affiliate will operate the routes until American Airlines completes its merger and finalizes route maps. "
- American Airlines to offer additional non-stop flights at Ford Airport as merger continues
- 2014-06
- 2014-09
- 2015-01
- Ford Airport's 2014 passenger traffic cruises to new record high
- "Airport officials announced 2,335,105 passengers traveled to and from Ford Airport last year. The figure, disclosed Tuesday, Jan. 20, breaks the airport's previous record of about 2.28 million trips set in 2011."
- Ford Airport shows off renovated concourse, new tap room: Get a 360-degree view
- Ford Airport's 2014 passenger traffic cruises to new record high
- 2015-02
- Bitter January doesn't stop Ford Airport flier numbers from soaring
- "Gerald R. Ford International reports 181,049 passengers traveled to and from the hub last month versus 157,504 fliers in January 2014, a 15 percent increase."
- Bitter January doesn't stop Ford Airport flier numbers from soaring
- 2015-03
- 2015-04
- Ford Airport records busiest travel month ever. (MLIVE)
- New All-time monthly passenger record of 231,138.
- Ford Airport records busiest travel month ever. (MLIVE)
- 2015-06
- 2015-08
- 2015-12
- Construction on $45M Ford Airport project to begin next week, MLIVE
- Airport starting 2016 on a high note, GRBJ
- "GFIA experiences a 10 percent to 12 percent surge in annual passenger counts."
- 2016-01
- 2017-03
- 2017-06
- 2017-07
- Frontier Airlines to fly out of Grand Rapids again, MLIVE
- Ford airport welcomes back airline, GRBJ
- Frontier airlines last served Grand Rapids in 2013. Direct air service will be provided to Denver and Orlando.
- note: This brings the number of direct service destinations to ~23; including service by SouthWest to Midway Airport which provides ~63 destinations. Midway is also easily reachable by rail service (Amtrak Pere Marquette + CTA Orange Line). Additionally, Chicago O'Hare airport is reachable by rail (Amtrak Pere Marquette + CTA Blue Line or Metra North Central Service). The trip to O'Hare is longer and, especially during winter months, O'Hare is prone to severe on-time performance issues. Less than half of flights in January or February depart O'Hare on-time.
- 2017-09
- Nearly half of Grand Rapids airport's $45M makeover paid with private money, MLIVE
- So . . . more than half was not private money.
- Nearly half of Grand Rapids airport's $45M makeover paid with private money, MLIVE
- 2017-10
- 2018-03
- 2018-07
- Grand Rapids airport to offer direct flights to Miami, 2018-07, MLIVE
- 2018-08
- Ford International is the second 'fastest-growing airport' in US, 2018-08, GRBJ
- Ford Airport adds nonstop flight to Phoenix, 2018-08, MiBiz
- 2018-11
- Multimillion dollar construction could bring waits to Ford Airport, 2018-11, MLIVE
- Ford airport booking new destination
- Grand Rapids airport adding direct flight to ninth Florida city
- Non-seasonal service to Sarasota begins April 5, 2019.
2019-01
- Ford airport lands two new destinations, GRBJ, 2019-01-15
- Destinations are Nashville, TN and Savannah, GA
- Airline forming $42M base at Ford airport, GRBJ, 2019-01-18
Grand Rapids is ‘sweet spot’ for airline base, GRBJ, 2019-01-18
Allegiant Air revealed it is investing $42.8 million to have two planes based in Grand Rapids, which leaders say is a sign of promising tourism growth.Ford airport reports best-ever December. GRBJ, 2019-01-22
- Ford airport lands two new destinations, GRBJ, 2019-01-15
- 2019-08
- Another $90M in airport expansions, MiBiZ, 2019-08-28
- Another $90M in airport expansions, GRBJ, 2019-08-28
- Direct flights to Milwaukee to be available by the end of 2019, GRBJ, 2019-08-28
- 2020-01
- Ford Airport adds three nonstop flights, GRBJ. 2020-01-14
- Service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will begin June 5th 2020
- Service to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) will begin May 7th, 2020
- Service to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) will begin May 22nd, 2020
- Ford Airport adds three nonstop flights, GRBJ. 2020-01-14
- 2022-12
- 2023-10
- 2023-12
- 2024-01
- Frontier Airlines to start nonstop Grand Rapids flights to Dallas, Crains
- Record number of passengers flew through Ford Airport in 2023, WOODTV8 : 3,794,915 passengers flew through Gerald R. Ford International Airport in 2023.
- 2024-02
- 2024-04
- Climate Crisis be damned, GR International Airport announces $135,000,000 terminal expansion project. More parking, new rental car facility, no new surface transportation options.
- 2024-07
- 2024-09
- GR International Airport now has both TSA Pre Check and "CLEAR" passenger clearance options.
- 2024-10
2024-11
- Ford Airport adding two more direct flights to southern east coast cities, FOX17 2024-11-19
- The airport now has direct flights to thirty (30) cities.
- These flights to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Jacksonville begin in May 2025
- Grand Rapids airport officials pursuing plans for first on-site hotel, Crains 2024-11-26
Grand Rapids airport tracking for second consecutive year of record travel numbers, 2024-12-02
Last year, GRR broke its passenger record and served 3,794,915 travelers, a 6% increase over the airport’s previous record-breaking year in 2019. Airport officials expect to exceed 2023’s travel numbers, with 2024 passenger numbers tracking 12.4% ahead of 2023’s year-to-date, according to airport official- Doubling down on air-travel, with little population growth, and during a Climate Crisis. Yep, that's how we roll in America.
- Ford Airport adding two more direct flights to southern east coast cities, FOX17 2024-11-19