MBS International Airport , located in Freeland, Michigan, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the nearby cities of Midland, Bay City, and

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

. It is included in the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

(FAA)

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility. MBS was formerly named Tri-City Airport or Freeland Tri-City Airport. The airport was renamed MBS International Airport in 1994 (representative of its

IATA airport code An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a three-character alphanumeric geocode designating many airports and metropolitan areas around the world, defined by the ...

) to prevent confusion with other airports named "Tri-City Airport" across the United States. While owned by three municipalities, the IATA and FAA city name associated with the airport is Saginaw, i.e. the control tower is known to pilots as "Saginaw Tower". The commercial airport is a special municipal body owned by Bay County and the cities of Midland and Saginaw. The airport's name is an

initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

formed from the names of these three communities and it is governed by a nine-member commission made up of three members from each of them. In October 2012, MBS opened a new $55 million six-gate terminal to replace the old three-gate terminal, which was built in 1965. The construction on this project was completed nearly a year ahead of schedule. The old terminal, which sat empty since October 2012, was demolished in 2017. MBS International Airport enjoyed a robust 2018 with passenger numbers up 13 percent, and the airport was poised to embark on a major rehabilitation of its main runway to ring in the New Year. In 2022, a credential authentication technology (CAT) unit was installed at MBS' TSA checkpoint. Passengers insert their ID into the machine themselves, reducing a touchpoint during the security process. The airport is a sponsor of the

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Histor ...

, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

History

MBS International Airport New Terminal Concourse

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, it was used to hold prisoners of war. Civilian control of the airport resumed in the mid-1940s. The current terminal on the north side of the air field opened on October 31, 2012. The terminal, which replaced an older terminal on the west side of the air field, was designed by RS&H and cost $55 million.Lynch-Morin, Kathryn
By the numbers: New MBS International Airport passenger terminal
The Saginaw News via MLive, October 26, 2012 The Airport Commission approved plans for the construction of the state-of-the-art passenger terminal in 2006, with construction beginning in 2008. Airport officials hope the terminal will bring more airlines and more competition to MBS.

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and us ...

landed at the airport twice during the 2004 United States Election for nearby rallies in support of George W. Bush. It landed once again on September 10, 2020 for a campaign speech by then President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. (Air Force One also visited the airport in 1974 when then President Richard M. Nixon made a speech at the airport and arrived to give endorsement to James Sparling, a Congressional candidate).

Air Force Two Air Force Two is the air traffic control designated call sign held by any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the U.S. vice president, but not the president. The term is often associated with the Boeing C-32, a modified 757 which is mos ...

also made an appearance in 1992 when Vice President

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle served as a U.S. ...

spoke from a hangar the day before the 1992 presidential election.

Facilities & Aircraft

MBS International Airport covers and has two runways: * Runway 5/23: , surface: asphalt * Runway 14/32: , surface: asphalt For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2017, the airport had 20,358 aircraft operations, an average of 77 per day. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2021, the airport had 13,500 aircraft operations per day, or 37/day. This 2021 figure includes 67%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

, 25%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) ...

, 8%

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

, and 1%

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. In December 2017, there were 23 aircraft based at this airport: 11 jet, 7 multi-engine and 5 single-engine airplanes, and 1

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

. In 2021, there were 19 aircraft based at the field: 8 jet aircraft, 6 multi-engine and 4 single-engine airplanes, and 1 helicopter. The airport has an FBO operated by AvFlight. Besides fuel, it offers general

maintenance Maintenance may refer to: Biological science * Maintenance of an organism * Maintenance respiration Non-technical maintenance * Alimony, also called ''maintenance'' in British English * Champerty and maintenance, two related legal doct ...

, oxygen, courtesy and rental cars, conference rooms, crew lounges, snooze rooms, showers, and more.

Former airline service

The 1980s and 1990s saw a lot of growth at MBS. During this time, airline service expanded and many airlines began serving MBS. *

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled an ...

(Operated by Air Ontario) served MBS with its only International destination,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. *

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air (usually shortened to Allegiant) is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a major air carrier, the fourteenth-largest commercial airline in North America. Allegiant was founded in 1 ...

lines served MBS in the early 2010s with weekly MD-80 service to Orlando-Sanford, but the route was dropped a few months later when Allegiant announced they would operate from Flint. *

American Eagle Airlines Envoy Air Inc. is an American regional airline headquartered in Irving, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group and it is paid by fellow group member American Airline ...

operated Shorts 360 turboprop aircraft to Chicago O'Hare, as well as

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, maki ...

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropo ...

, and

Traverse City Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

. American left MBS in the late 1980s. * Chicago Express Airlines, the now-defunct

ATA Airlines ATA Airlines, Inc. – formerly known as American Trans Air and commonly referred to as ATA – was a United States low-cost scheduled service and charter airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana. ATA operated scheduled passenger flights ...

carrier, served MBS in the early 1990s with daily service to Chicago Midway Airport using the

Jetstream 31 The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin-turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the British ...

turboprop aircraft. *

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a regional airline brand name for Delta Air Lines, under which a number of individually owned regional airlines primarily operate short- and medium-haul routes. Mainline major air carriers often use regional airlines to ope ...

carrier Comair briefly linked MBS with

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

using

Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a twin-turboprop 30-passenger commuter airliner designed and manufactured by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The EMB 120 began development during 1974. While initially conceived as a modular series of ...

, a 30-seat turboprop. Comair left MBS and started service in

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start ...

. Delta Connection returned to MBS in 2010 after their merger with Northwest Airlines. *

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started ...

provided mainline service in the 1980s to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

using

McDonnell Douglas DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. Afte ...

and

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

aircraft. Mainline service was downgraded to

Continental Express Continental Express was the operating brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing commuter airliner and regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines. In 2012 at the time of the merger ...

service in the late 1980s using

Beechcraft 1900 The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With ...

turboprop aircraft. Service to Flint and Chicago Midway also existed in 1992. The airline left MBS in the mid-1990s and returned in 2002. Service was dropped to Cleveland again in 2003. *

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...

was a major player at MBS during the late 1980s until their merger with Delta in 2008. In their 20+ years at MBS, Northwest served Detroit & Minneapolis with a fleet of

series aircraft along with the

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller air ...

and Airbus 319 & 320.

Northwest Airlink Northwest Airlink was the brand name of Northwest Airlines' regional airline service, which flew turboprop and regional jet aircraft from Northwest's domestic hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Memphis. Service was primarily to small-to-medium-siz ...

linked MBS to Flint, Lansing and Alpena throughout the 1980s with turboprop aircraft and eventually supported mainline Northwest with CRJ service to Detroit, Minneapolis and in 2008, operated a once daily nonstop to New York's

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia ...

in New York City using a

CRJ-200 The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) is a regional jet designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family. The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) pr ...

regional jet. * Republic Airlines began service to MBS in the 1960s linking MBS with Detroit using the DC-9 aircraft. During this time, Republic Express provided turboprop service to Flint, Grand Rapids, and Traverse City. Republic merged with

in the 1980s, who subsequently merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. Delta still serves MBS today. *

Skyway Airlines Skyway Airlines was an American ramp and aircraft ground handling services and catering company based in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Until April 5, 2008, it operated as a regional airline and banner carrier exclusively for Midwest Express Airlines (whic ...

(The Midwest Express Connection) served MBS in the 1990s with service to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, using the

turboprop aircraft. Skyway also tried service to Toronto, Flint, and Grand Rapids in the late 1990s. The airline pulled out in the late 1990s. *

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

provided MBS with mainline service since commercial service was started. In the 1980s and 1990s, United linked MBS with Chicago using Boeing 737 and 727 aircraft. Service to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, also existed in the 1980s. Mainline United left MBS in the 2001, and was replaced with

United Express United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...

, which still serves MBS with service to Chicago's

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop busines ...

using mostly 50-seat aircraft. *

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...

began service to MBS in 1996, operating

Fokker 100 The Fokker 100 is a regional jet produced by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 100 is based on the Fokker F28 with a fuselage stretched by to seat up to 109 passengers, up from 85. It is powered by two newer Rolls-Royce Tay turbofans, ...

and Boeing 737 aircraft to its former hub in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Mainline service ended soon after, and

US Airways Express US Airways Express was the brand name for the regional affiliate of US Airways, under which a number of individually owned commuter air carriers and regional airlines operate short and medium haul routes. This code sharing service was previously ...

assumed the Pittsburgh flights using the Beech 1900 and

Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30-36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 different o ...

aircraft. US Airways suspended service to MBS just two days after entering

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy protection in late 2002. At the time it was the only city for US Airways to drop. Eventually, US Airways also left Flint, Lansing, Kalamazoo, and Grand Rapids, leaving Detroit as the only Michigan destination served by US Airways.

Current operations

SkyWest Airlines SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah, United States. SkyWest is paid to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by a partner mainline airline. Th ...

runs ground services for United Express. United Express flies to Chicago O’Hare using both

and

CRJ-700 The Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 are a family of regional jet airliners that were designed and manufactured by Canadian transportation conglomerate Bombardier (formerly Canadair) between 1999 and 2020. Their design was derived from ...

aircraft. The CRJ-200 aircraft (flights operated by

Air Wisconsin Air Wisconsin Airlines is a regional airline based at Appleton International Airport in the town of Greenville, Wisconsin near Appleton. Air Wisconsin originally operated as one of the original United Express partners in 1985, and operated ...

) features 4 Economy Plus seats and 46 Economy seats. The CRJ-700 aircraft (flights operated by GoJet) features 6 United First seats, 18 Economy Plus seats, and 52 Economy seats. DAL Global Services operates ground handling duties for Delta Connection at MBS, which features mostly 50-seat

aircraft with 46 Main Cabin seats and 4 Delta Comfort+ seats.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Top destinations

Accidents and incidents

* On April 6, 1958,

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...

N7437, operating

Capital Airlines Flight 67 Capital Airlines Flight 67 was a domestic scheduled U.S. passenger flight operated by Capital Airlines (United States), Capital Airlines which plane crash, crashed on Final approach (aeronautics), final approach to Freeland, Michigan, during a sev ...

, stalled and crashed on approach. All 47 on board were killed. The cause was attributed to ice accretion on the horizontal stabilizer. * On August 16, 1987, a

MD-80 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...

Northwest Airlines Flight 255 On August 16, 1987 a McDonnell Douglas MD-80#MD-82, McDonnell Douglas MD-82, operating as Northwest Airlines Flight 255, crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, about 8:46 pm Eastern Time Zone, EDT (00:46 UTC Augus ...

, originated at MBS. After departing MBS, the flight dropped off and picked up passengers at

Detroit Metropolitan Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , usually called Detroit Metro Airport, Metro Airport, or simply DTW, is a major international airport in the United States covering effective December 30, 2021. in Romulus, Michigan. It is the primary ...

before crashing on takeoff en route to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, killing 148 passengers and six crew members. There was only one survivor. *On May 23, 2016, a single-engine

Cessna 170 The Cessna 170 is an American light, single-engined, general aviation aircraft produced by the Cessna Aircraft Company between 1948 and 1956. It is the predecessor of the Cessna 172, the most produced aircraft in history, which replaced ...

flipped over due to unknown causes. All three people in the plane survived with no injuries.

Transportation

Rental car services are provided by

Hertz Rent A Car The Hertz Corporation is an American car rental company based in Estero, Florida. The company operates its namesake Hertz brand, along with the brands Dollar Rent A Car, Firefly Car Rental and Thrifty Car Rental. It is one of the three big rent ...

Enterprise Rent-A-Car Enterprise Rent-A-Car is an American car rental agency headquartered in Clayton, Missouri, in Greater St. Louis. Enterprise is the flagship brand of Enterprise Holdings, which also owns other agencies including Alamo Rent a Car and National ...

Avis Car Rental Avis Car Rental is an American car rental company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. Avis, Budget Rent a Car, Budget Truck Rental and Zipcar are all units of Avis Budget Group. Avis Budget Group operates the Avis brand in South Afric ...

, National Car Rental, and

Budget Rent a Car Budget Rent a Car is an American car rental company that was founded in 1958 in Los Angeles, California by Morris Mirkin. Budget is a subsidiary of the Avis Budget Group, with its operations headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. History ...

. Various taxi and limousine services are available to passengers as well.

Expansion

In July 2019, the FAA announced that MBS airport would receive $4.65 million for taxiway construction. This included $1.3 million in entitlement funding and $3.3 million in discretionary funding. The project added a second connection in and out of the terminal ramp, and was projected to improve efficiency.

References

External links

*
Michigan Bureau of Aeronautics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mbs International Airport Airports established in 1943 1943 establishments in Michigan Airports in Michigan Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Technical Service Command Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Michigan Transportation in Saginaw County, Michigan Buildings and structures in Saginaw County, Michigan