Bishop International Airport

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 an authority, Bishop International Airport Authority to run the airport.[6]

The renovation and expansion of the terminal, originally built in 1993, was designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills.[7]

The airport is currently served by several passenger airlines: Allegiant Air and Delta Air Lines operate mainline service out of the airport, and regional services are provided by affiliates of Delta Connection, United Express and American Eagle. Additionally, FedEx Express and CSA Air (a FedEx Feeder affiliate) operate cargo services out of the airport. Accompanying the airlines is fixed-base operator Av Flight that 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] It is in southwestern Flint, and is surrounded by Flint Township to the north, east and west; and Mundy Township to the south.

Southwest Airlines briefly served Flint following their merger with AirTran in 2014. Southwest offered daily Boeing 737 flights from Flint to Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa and Baltimore before dropping them and serving only Chicago Midway airport in 2016.[12] While flights to Midway were full, Southwest did not see adequate profit from the short flight[13] and ceased service to Flint in 2018.[14]

After Southwest's service downgrade in 2016, Allegiant Air saw the demand in Flint for low cost flights to popular tourist destinations and began service to Orlando/Sanford and Tampa/Clearwater- St Petersburg in 2016. The success of those routes led to additional service to Ft. Myers- Punta Gorda, FL[15] in 2018 and seasonal service to both Ft. Lauderdale and Myrtle Beach.[16]

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,[17] led Flint to their lowest passenger numbers in over a decade.[18] Statistics from the airport for 2018 show the number of passengers boarding flights at Bishop down about 10 percent -- from 400,781 in 2017 to 360,609 in 2018, the lowest number of departing flights from Flint since 2002.[19] Allegiant Air added service between Flint and Nashville on June 5, 2020.[20]

Despite the 2018 results, early 2019 saw Allegiant become the number one air carrier in Flint, carrying 41 percent of Flint's passengers in February.[21] Envoy Air (as American Eagle) also started a fourth daily flight to Chicago O'Hare[22] and PSA Airlines (as American Eagle) announced on April 11, 2019 twice daily service to Charlotte to begin in September 2019.[23]

On April 28, 2020, Delta Air Lines announced it will temporarily suspend flights to and from Flint and several other small hub airports after losing $534 million in the first quarter of 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation. Its subsidiary Endeavor Air (as Delta Connection) continues to serve Flint. However, in June of the same year, Delta announced that the airport's sole remaining service to Atlanta will permanently stop on July 8, 2020. [24]

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,[25] 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 9L/27R, which is scheduled to be designed in 2009 and constructed in 2010.

Runway 5/23 was closed permanently on May 4, 2009,[26] 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.[27]

On April 24, 2012, the airport's board of directors approved a $1.348 million project to repair the airport's tarmac.[28] On September 19, 2012, it was announced that the Federal Aviation Administration approved a grant to fund the project.[29]

On October 6, 2012, a new Transportation Security Administration checkpoint opened in the terminal.[30]

The completed terminal was dedicated on November 13, 2012.[31]

The airport's board allocated an additional $10.9 million for upgrades in 2013 and 2014.[32]

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.[33]

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.[34]

On July 30, 2018, the FAA gave the airport a $4,012,542 grant for taxiway construction, rehabilitation and lighting.[35]

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.[36]

Bishop International Airport covers 1,550 acres (6 km²) and has two runways:[1]

• Runway 18/36: 7,848 x 150 ft. (2,392 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete
• Runway 9/27: 7,200 x 150 ft. (2,195 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt

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 available at the airport.[41]

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.[42] BIAA operates the airport's public safety and maintenance departments. On January 27, 2014, airport director Jim Rice retired after 24 years of service.[43] 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.[44]

• On November 16, 2011, a Piaggio P.180 Avanti operating as Avantair Flight 168 (Detroit Metro to West Bend Municipal, tail number N168SL) crashed upon landing due to an engine failure. The plane was damaged beyond repair, but everyone aboard survived with only minor injuries.[45][46]
• 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.[47]
• On June 21, 2017, airport police Lieutenant Jeff Neville was stabbed in the neck by a man who shouted "Allahu Akbar" while doing so.[48][49] 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.[50] Ftouhi was found guilty of three federal counts in November 2018. He was sentenced to life in prison in April 2019.[51]
• On January 6, 2019, a Cessna 210 Centurion crash landed at Bishop due to landing gear failure. All four people aboard escaped uninjured.[52]
• On January 18, 2019, it was reported that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality found elevated levels of PFAS in groundwater at the airport.[53]

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  Bishop International Airport's air traffic control tower controls the airport and the Class C airspace around it.
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  Ticketing area
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  Baggage claim area
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  Artwork depicting a paper airplane in the terminal

• Official website

• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KFNT
  • ASN accident history for FNT
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KFNT
  • FAA current FNT delay information