The Lambert Airport/China Hub deal is not dead yet. That's the word from Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge. "We do think a decision has been made to start flight activity, but we have not been officially told," Hamm-Niebruegge said Wednesday. Hamm-Niebruegge says she's hearing industry rumors that the Chinese have already picked St. Louis, but aren't saying so publicly, perhaps until after a big visitor comes to the U.S. later this month.
"The Chinese President is coming in," she explained. "He's visiting the U.S. and Chicago. We're hearing that they don't want to upstage that visit or upstage him before his arrival." However, Hamm-Niebruegge says if nothing happens soon, Lambert will begin to market its cargo operation to other prospective customers.
Lambert has competition of a sort for the China cargo hub - officials at MidAmerica Airport, in Mascoutah, IL, have been wooing Beijing for the same business opportunity for the last six years. Last month, a test flight from China arrived at MidAmerica. But MidAmerica lacks the state and federal dollars Lambert brings to the table as an incentive for the overseas air-carriers. |
