Bishop International Airport (IATA: FNT, ICAO: KFNT, FAALID: FNT) is a commercial and general aviation airport in Flint, Michigan, United States. It is named after banker and General Motors board member Arthur Giles Bishop (April 12, 1851 – January 22, 1944), who donated 220 acres of his farmland for the airport in 1928.[4][5] It is located in southwestern Flint, and is surrounded by Flint Township to the north, east and west; and Mundy Township to the south.
The third-busiest airport in Michigan after those of Detroit and Grand Rapids, it surpassed competitor MBS near Saginaw in terms of airline operations in 2002. 1,071,238 passengers used Bishop International Airport in 2007; 938,914 passengers used the airport in 2011.[6][needs update]
The airport is currently served by three passenger airlines: Allegiant Air operates mainline service out of the airport, and regional services are provided by affiliates of United Express and American Eagle. The airlines offer passenger flights to 13 cities across the United States. The airport became a focus city for Allegiant on February 19, 2022.[1] The airport also includes a freight terminal used by FedEx Express and an affiliate of FedEx Feeder.
Accompanying the airlines is fixed-base operator AvFlight, which handles both general aviation and airline operations.[8] Also based at the airport are flight schools Greater Flint Pilots Association, American Wings Aviation, and Crosswinds Aviation.[9][10][11]
History
In 1928, the Arthur Giles Bishop family gave to the City of Flint 220 acres for aeronautical purposes. The city-operated Bishop Airport until 1987 when the city and Genesee County formed the Bishop International Airport Authority to run the airport.[12]
The renovation and expansion of the current terminal, originally built in 1993, was designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills.[13]
Historic airline service
When the current terminal was completed in 1993, most airlines serving Flint were using propeller aircraft, which included Northwest Airlink (the regional service of Northwest Airlines) and Skyway Airlines (operating as Midwest Connect). USAir was the only airline providing jet service at the time, which they operated to their hub in Pittsburgh.[14][15] Northwest Airlines, who operated a major hub nearby at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, would upgrade most of their flights from Detroit to Flint (and other Michigan cities) to DC 9 jets in 1996.[16]
In 1997 ValuJet Airlines began service to Flint, which became Flint's first low-cost carrier.[17] ValuJet was merged into AirTran Airways later that year, who continued to provide flights to Atlanta.[18] The success of AirTran's flights led them to increase service which prompted Northwest Airlines to also increase service to Flint.[14] For much of the 2000s, competition between AirTran and Northwest brought growth in air service to Flint which included flights to Florida and Las Vegas. Competition between the two airlines was so heavy, both airlines would often announce new competing services within days of each other.[19]
Northwest Airlines was merged into Delta Air Lines in 2009. After the merger, Delta continued to operate flights to Detroit and Minneapolis/St. Paul (both of which were previously operated by Northwest) in addition to their service to Atlanta. However, Delta discontinued the short flights to Detroit in 2013.[20]
AirTran was merged into Southwest Airlines in 2014. Southwest continued to serve Flint briefly following the merger and offered Boeing 737 flights from Flint to Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa, Baltimore, and seasonal service to Fort Myers before dropping them and serving only Chicago Midway Airport in 2016.[27] While flights to Midway were full, Southwest did not see adequate profit from the short flight and ceased service to Flint in 2018.[28][29]
Although Allegiant was a welcome to passengers at Flint, the lack of daily flights that Southwest had offered plus the Delta Connection cancellation of their twice daily Minneapolis flight[32] led Flint to their lowest passenger numbers in over a decade.[33] Statistics from the airport for 2018 show the number of passengers boarding flights at Bishop down about 10%: from 400,781 in 2017 to 360,609 in 2018, the lowest number of departing flights from Flint since 2002.[33] Allegiant Air added service between Flint and Nashville on June 5, 2020.[34] On November 17, 2020, Allegiant announced it would begin service between Flint and Las Vegas, starting March 4, 2021.[35] Allegiant has announced it will offer service to Boston and Jacksonville, Florida starting in March 2022.[36] In February 2022, Fline became an operating base for Allegiant Air.[37] Allegiant began service between Flint and Savannah, Georgia on April 15, 2022.[38]
Despite the 2018 results, early 2019 saw Allegiant become the number-one air carrier in Flint, carrying 41% of Flint's passengers in February.[39]Envoy Air (as American Eagle) also started a fourth daily flight to Chicago O'Hare.[40] On April 11, 2019, PSA Airlines (as American Eagle) announced twice daily service to Charlotte to begin in September 2019.[41] American's flights to Charlotte were discontinued in 2022.[42]
In early February 2007 Bishop International Airport unveiled a comprehensive five-year developmental plan that would be slated for continuation through late 2011. The program called for two phases of "Intermodal Facility Development," including the expansion of the West Cargo Apron, what is now known as the Abex and Emory GVA Freight Ramp,[44] located on the airport's northwest side.
In May 2009 Bishop International Airport began Phase I of its Terminal Airside & Concourse Improvements program. Projects under this phase were developed in 2008. Included in this phase are upgrades to the terminal ramp, upon which the passenger concourse resides; the permanent closure and deconstruction of Runway 5/23; and the acquisition of new land for an envisioned Runway 09L/27R, which was scheduled to be designed in 2009 and constructed in 2010.
Runway 5/23 was closed permanently on May 4, 2009[45] as progress continued in the Capital Improvement Program.
The renovation and expansion of the terminal, originally built in 1993, was designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills.[46]
On April 24, 2012, the airport's board of directors approved a $1.348 million project to repair the airport's ramp.[47] On September 19, 2012, it was announced that the Federal Aviation Administration approved a grant to fund the project.[48]
The completed terminal was dedicated on November 13, 2012.[50]
The airport's board allocated an additional $10.9 million for upgrades in 2013 and 2014.[51]
On August 29, 2013, the airport received a $2.87 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which was used to repair taxiways and lighting and to buy a replacement snow truck.[52]
On September 28, 2017, the airport received a $4.302 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration which will be used to rehabilitate the pavement of Taxiway C, construct asphalt shoulders and install runway guard lights at each access point to the runway.[53]
On July 30, 2018, the FAA gave the airport a $4,012,542 grant for taxiway construction, rehabilitation and lighting.[54]
On June 5, 2019, the FAA gave the airport $8,056,505 for runway reconstruction, the addition of runway shoulders, and enhancements to the runway's lighting system.[55]
On August 8, 2024, the airport received $2 million from the FAA for upgrades to the gate counters, ticket counters, information displays, and a new 6,000 feet (1,800 m) service road and taxilane on the field. Also on that date, Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee said he plans to seek another $4.5 million in the 2025 federal budget for undisclosed safety and accessibility improvements.[56]
Facilities
Bishop International Airport covers 1,550 acres (6 km²) and has two runways:[2][57]
Runway 18/36: 7,849 × 150 ft. (2,392 × 46 m), surface: asphalt/concrete
Runway 09/27: 7,201 × 150 ft. (2,195 × 46 m), surface: asphalt
In the year ending December 31, 2021, the airport had 44,632 operations, an average of 122 aircraft operations per day: 78% general aviation, 21% scheduled commercial / air taxi, and less than 1% military. At that time 93 aircraft were based at this airport: 70 single-engine, 21 multi-engine, and two jet aircraft.[2]
Destinations from Bishop International Airport Red = Year-round destination Blue = Future destination Green = Seasonal destination Pink = Destination being terminated
2020 was Bishop's worst year since 2002, with departures down about 42%: from 597,000 in 2019 to 346,000 in 2020. This was largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Ground transportation
Bishop International Airport is accessible from I-69, I-75/US-23, and I-475 at Bristol Road. The airport is also served by a bus line operated by the Flint Mass Transportation Authority, local taxi services, and Uber which operates in the Flint area. Several car rental agencies are also available at the airport.[61]
Airport Authority Board
The Bishop International Airport Authority (BIAA) is the joint public authority created by Genesee County and the city of Flint to run Bishop International Airport. The Authority Board has nine members appointed to three-year terms.[62] BIAA operates the airport's public safety and maintenance departments.
On January 27, 2014, airport director Jim Rice retired after 24 years of service.[63] The service drive in front of the airport that leads to the terminal and front parking lot has since been renamed in his honor. The board later named Craig Williams, former Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority board member, as his successor on July 22, 2014.[64]
Accidents and incidents
On May 18, 1935, a Ford Trimotor operated by Knowles Flying Service crash landed at Flint-Bishop Airport due to fuel starvation. Two passengers and a pilot died out of the 12 on board.[65]
On January 6, 1977, a Learjet 23 operated by Jet Avia crashed while on a runway 27 localizer back course approach in snow and a low ceiling. A failure to maintain airspeed was the probable cause. Both occupants were killed.[67]
On December 12, 2011, four people from Saginaw were arrested at Bishop International Airport trying to smuggle 122 pounds (55 kg) of marijuana from Phoenix.[71]
On June 21, 2017, airport police lieutenant Jeff Neville was stabbed in the neck by a man who shouted "Allahu Akbar" while doing so.[72][73] A Tunisian-born Canadian man, Amor Ftouhi, was arrested at the scene as a suspect. Neville survived the attack. The attack was condemned by the Canadian government.[74] Ftouhi was found guilty of three federal counts in November 2018. He was sentenced to life in prison in April 2019.[75]
