Visit Quad Cities announces its full slate of officers and board members for fiscal year 2022-2023. “I’m honored to serve as the next chairman of Visit Quad Cities and continue working alongside engaged community leaders to push the Quad Cities forward,” said Benjamin Leischner, A.A.E. “Dave and his team have made tremendous progress putting the Quad Cities on the map as a destination for tourism, conferences and major events. I believe the pathway between visitors and residents is directly connected when people visit our region and see how family-friendly and affordable it is. Whether... Read More

The Quad Cities International Airport has received more than $13 million in federal relief and safety upgrade funds in the last few weeks. The Federal Aviation Administration awarded $8.57 million to the Moline airport for construction on taxiways and runway 5/23. This project will eliminate the intersection of three runways which will increase safety and efficiency, and reduce risk for aircraft operations. The Q-C Airport is among a small number of airports in the U.S. with three runways intersecting at a single point. The 5,000-foot runway will be shortened by 2,000 feet and taxiways will be... Read More

The Quad Cities International Airport reached a pandemic-era high with 42,881 travelers during the month of May. This marks the highest number of travelers through the airport since February 2020. The year began with passenger numbers hovering around 23,000, showing a clear uptick in demand as Covid-19 cases decrease and restrictions loosen across the U.S., according to a Wednesday release from the airport. “We’ve been saying for months that we believe there is pent-up travel demand and we’re seeing that come to fruition in yet another strong month of recovery,” QCIA executive director... Read More

Things continue to look up at the Quad Cities International Airport, as twice-daily service to Minneapolis-St. Paul through Delta Air Lines will be restored starting Saturday, June 5. This news follows the airport’s strongest month since the beginning of the pandemic – in April — with more than 36,000 travelers. “We know some of our regional peers have lost Delta service entirely, so the fact that Delta sees the value in continuing to serve the Quad-Cities region is immensely important,” airport executive director Benjamin Leischner said in a Tuesday release. “With service to Atlanta... Read More

The Quad Cities International Airport is continuing its impressive ascent in passenger traffic, as April saw more than 36,000 passengers travel through the Moline airport. For comparison, April 2020 saw just 2,734 total passengers as the pandemic took a firm hold across the globe. With this last month’s 36,594 passengers, moving forward the airport will use 2019 passenger numbers as a comparison to measure recovery, it said Wednesday. “We typically see a slight dip in April coming off of the busy spring break season, so the slight bump in passenger numbers was a welcome sight,” Q-C Airport... Read More

Solar energy is coming to the Quad Cities International Airport by late this summer. Solar panels affixed to the terminal roof and a new carport structure will provide a clean, renewable energy source for the airport, and a covered parking option for nearly 200 spots in the short-term lot – at no cost to the Moline airport. Two additional electric vehicle charging stations will be added to the existing three once the project is completed. At the time of this announcement, only 20 percent of public U.S. airports are using solar power. “We are fortunate to have this opportunity to bring a clean... Read More

March 2021 was the Quad Cities International Airport’s busiest month in a whole year, the airport announced Wednesday. Restored routes and additional spring break service gave the Q-C Airport in Moline an increase of nearly 12,000 passengers from the previous month. This improved traffic to a 46-percent decline over 2019, compared to the 56-60% decline that has been the norm for the past several months. “All indications have pointed toward a pent-up demand for travel and we’re seeing the evidence of that here,” QCIA executive director Benjamin Leischner said in the airport release. “The... Read More

The timing of the Quad Cities International Airport (QCIA) announcing its ambitious, sleek renovation plans Tuesday was no coincidence. The public unveiling of more than $20 million in passenger terminal improvements came the day before President Joe Biden today announced his ambitious $2-trillion infrastructure plans, dubbed “The American Jobs Plan” – which includes $25 billion for airport improvements nationwide. “A lot of the funds we get, we pull in federally into the community. So we’re not big on pulling taxes from our neighbors,” QCIA executive director Benjamin Leischner... Read More

The Quad Cities International Airport in Moline will be getting a dramatic, $20-million-plus facelift. Several concepts and images were unveiled Tuesday by airport officials that include added amenities for passengers and represent the first major investment in the aging facility since 2001. The landside terminal, which includes ticketing and baggage claim, has not been updated since 1985. “The travel industry has changed dramatically since 1985 but our airport has had to take a patchwork approach to keep up,” QCIA executive director Benjamin Leischner said Tuesday. “With the work being done... Read More

Despite federal health officials urging people to stay home, millions of people will fly during Thanksgiving week, including many through the Quad City International Airport, Moline. More than 1 million air travelers passed through security checkpoints at U.S. airports Nov. 20 and 22 for only the second and third time since the pandemic began, according to the Transportation Security Administration. Sunday was the single-busiest day at airport checkpoints since March. Saturday, the travel numbers neared a million, bringing the three-day total to more than 3 million passengers. The surge in... Read More