MBS International Airport | |||||||||||||||
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| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Bay County, Michigan, Midland, Michigan, Saginaw, Michigan | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Saginaw, Michigan Midland, Michigan Bay City, Michigan | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Freeland, MI, United States | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 668 ft / 204 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 43°31′58″N 084°04′47″W / 43.53278°N 84.07972°W | ||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||
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  MBS Location of airport in Michigan  MBS MBS (the United States) | |||||||||||||||
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MBS International Airport (IATA: MBS, ICAO: KMBS, FAA LID: MBS), located in Freeland, Michigan, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the nearby cities of Midland, Bay City, and Saginaw.[1] It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.[3]
MBS was formerly named Tri-City Airport or Freeland Tri-City Airport, reflecting the “Tri-Cities” nickname of the region. The airport was renamed MBS International Airport in 1994 (representative of its IATA airport code) 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,[4] 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 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.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7]
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.[8]
The airport is a sponsor of the Great Lakes Loons, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers.[9]
- ^ a b FAA Airport Form 5010 for MBS PDF, effective Nov 10, 2016.
- ^ "Measures of Michigan Air Carrier Demand". Michigan.gov. Michigan Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- ^ "List of NPIAS Airports" (PDF). FAA.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. October 21, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
- ^ IATA Codes. "IATA Airport Codes - M".
- ^ Lynch-Morin, Kathryn (October 27, 2012). "Visitors to the new MBS International Airport terminal like the bright, open design". mlive.com. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- ^ Simpson-Mersha, Isis (May 4, 2017). "MBS set to demolish old terminal building". mlive.com. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- ^ Becker, Jon (December 24, 2018). "MBS enjoys robust 2018 as passenger numbers soar". Midland Daily News. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- ^ "TSA checkpoint at MBS International Airport gets new credential authentication technology unit". Transportation Security Administration. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ "MBS Airport inks sponsorship deal with Great Lakes Loons". Midland Daily News. October 21, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.