LEXINGTON, Kentucky — A new economic impact study shows that Blue Grass Airport (KLEX) has an overall economic impact of $709 million.
Using 2023 data, the study, done by Mead & Hunt, a national aviation consulting firm, determined the airport is responsible for:
- 4,745 jobs
- Annual payroll of $180 million
- Overall annual economic output of $709 million.
The results account for economic activity related to the airport’s day-to-day operation, capital improvement projects undertaken by both the airport and on-airport organizations, and visitors coming to the region by airline or general aviation aircraft, according to airport officials.
The study used the Impact Analysis for Planning (IMPLAN) input-output model to estimate the impacts that follow from the direct impacts, called multiplier impacts. Multiplier impacts result from the re-spending and re-circulation of direct impacts within the economy, officials explained. This re-spending can occur multiple times by individuals and businesses until it leaks beyond the boundaries of the study area. When the multiplier impacts were added to the direct impacts, the total impacts attributed to Blue Grass Airport were calculated.
But officials note that the benefits of Blue Grass Airport go beyond the jobs and economic output attributed to it.
“In many ways, the airport’s services are more valuable than its economic impact, especially on an individual level,” officials noted.
As part of the study, three cases were explored to better understand the airport’s impact on people in the region, including healthcare’s use of aviation, career development in aviation, and partnership with the Honor Flight Kentucky veterans’ organization.
Healthcare Use of Aviation
Lexington is home to multiple hospitals and medical facilities, and Blue Grass Airport plays a “crucial” role in supporting air ambulance services for these institutions, airport officials said.
“Due to its proximity to the hospitals, medical helicopters frequently refuel at the airport, and aircraft use the airport when weather conditions prevent the use of hospital helipads,” officials continued. “While most medical flights involve helicopters, there are also patient transport flights, including the University of Kentucky’s organ transplant program, which utilizes Blue Grass Airport for transporting over 150 organs annually to Lexington-area hospitals for life-saving procedures.”
Aviation Career Development
Blue Grass Airport and its on-site partners serve as a training ground for the future aviation workforce, offering formal programs such as flight school instruction and aircraft maintenance, as well as informal programs such as volunteer opportunities at the Aviation Museum of Kentucky and internships between the airport and Eastern Kentucky University.
Honor Flight Kentucky
Blue Grass Airport collaborates with Honor Flight Kentucky, an organization dedicated to providing military veterans with a complimentary visit to the memorials in Washington, D.C.
You can read the entire report at BlueGrassAirport.com
These studies are totally bogus, using contrived factors that have no real basis. They are created by airport consultants and paid with tax dollars by government airport authorities in order to justify more spending, usually funneled through crony companies that love to gold-plate public projects. I was a member of the NC Airports Association in the past and saw how the game is played. You will not see private airports doing these phony studies since all that matters is their bottom line.