Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport

Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport
USGS 2006 orthophoto
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerMarquette County
ServesMarquette, Michigan
LocationGwinn, Michigan
Elevation AMSL1,204 ft / 367 m
Coordinates46°21′13″N 087°23′43″W / 46.35361°N 87.39528°W / 46.35361; -87.39528
Websitewww.sawyerairport.com
Map
MQT is located in Michigan
MQT
MQT
Location of airport in Michigan
MQT is located in the United States
MQT
MQT
MQT (the United States)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
1/19 9,072 2,765 Asphalt/concrete
Statistics
Departing passengers (12 months ending July 2024)45,300
Aircraft operations (2022)17,889
Based aircraft (2023)41
Sources: FAA,[1] MDOT[2]

Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport (IATA: MQT, ICAO: KSAW, FAA LID: SAW), previously named Sawyer International Airport, is a county-owned, public-use airport in Marquette County, Michigan, United States. It is located 17 nautical miles (20 mi; 31 km) south of the central business district of the city of Marquette.[1] It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.[3]

This commercial and general aviation airport is located near Gwinn, on a portion of the former K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base, which closed in September 1995. The airport opened for passenger service in September 1999, serving Marquette and the surrounding area. It replaced the former Marquette County Airport (IATA: MQT, ICAO: KMQT, FAA LID: MQT), which closed the same year.

Although many U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and International Air Transport Association (IATA), this airport is assigned SAW by the FAA[1] and MQT by the IATA[4] (which assigned SAW to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey).[5] The airport's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) identifier is KSAW.[6]

The airport received $18 million from the US Department of Transportation in 2020 as part of the CARES Act, which was intended to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic[7][8] by providing funds earmarked for immediate spending to sustain operational expenses, generate loans, tax credits and paycheck protection to small businesses,[9] along with additional protections and benefits to individuals. The airport instead opted to use those funds for airport rebranding, consulting services, art installations, hangar renovations and fire suppression system upgrades, terminal expansion, demolition of multiple buildings not currently part of airport operations and other initiatives not related to COVID-19 impacts,[10][11][12][13][14] which will continue years after the end of the pandemic.

In 2022, the airport distributed a survey asking for public input in a rebranding effort. Despite public effort to include local native and renowned aeronautical engineer Kelly Johnson's name in the rebranding,[15] the Marquette County Board of Commissioners instead voted to rename the airport to Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport on March 21, 2023, as part of the $20 million renovation and re-imaging initiatives.[16]

  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for SAW PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. effective November 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "Measures of Michigan Air Carrier Demand". Michigan Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  3. ^ "List of NPIAS Airports" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. October 21, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  4. ^ "Sawyer International Airport (IATA: MQT, ICAO: KSAW, FAA: SAW)". Great Circle Mapper. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  5. ^ "Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (IATA: SAW, ICAO: LTFJ)". Great Circle Mapper. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  6. ^ "Sawyer International: SAW (KSAW)". Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  7. ^ "USDOT announces nearly $23M for Upper Michigan airports in response to COVID-19". Upper Michigan's Source. Negaunee, Michigan: WLUC-TV. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  8. ^ Hall, Jack (April 14, 2020). "Upper Peninsula Airports To Receive Financial Aid". Radio Results Network. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  9. ^ Whitaker, Michael. "Report to Congress on the Airport Improvement Program for FY 2020 and FY 2021" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  10. ^ Johnson, Taylor (April 19, 2022). "KI Sawyer Airport gives community update". Iron Mountain Daily News. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Champion, Brandon (March 28, 2023). "Upper Peninsula airport gets new name after $20M upgrade". MLive. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  12. ^ "June 2020 Minutes - Sawyer International Airport Airport Advisory Committee" (PDF). Sawyer International Airport. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  13. ^ Trout, Mike; Budds, Bryan. "2020 – 2021 Federal Pandemic Assistance for Michigan Airports" (PDF). Michigan House of Representatives. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  14. ^ Sawyer International Airport Airport Advisory Committee. "March 2021 minutes" (PDF). Sawyer International Airport. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  15. ^ DeLadurantaye, Stephen (March 7, 2023). "Marquette County Board considers new airport name suggestion from public". Upper Michigan's Source. Negaunee, Michigan: WLUC-TV. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  16. ^ Ledy, Terese (March 21, 2023). "Marquette County Board of Commissioners Approves Airport Rebrand". Upper Michigan's Source. Negaunee, Michigan: WLUC-TV. Retrieved March 21, 2023.