No need to remind me that our jobs are never totally finished. There are always more safety improvements to initiate, capacity-increasing projects to execute and restrooms to modernize. I get it, our jobs demand it.

It’s important to also recognize that over the past couple of years, we’ve experienced quite a transformation in the infrastructure of our industry. Coming out of the COVID pandemic, federal stimulus funding has created a state of modernization that has no equal. The incredible number of recently completed terminals, runway enhancements, safety and capacity improvements has transformed airports across the U.S. And the list of announced projects is equally impressive.

So, as we’re setting passenger records and keeping our airport consultants and suppliers busy with orders, why not celebrate our work to date!

Soon, we’ll be meeting many of you in Grand Rapids for ACI-NA’s annual conference and exhibition. Appropriately, the theme for this year’s conference is Advancing Progress, which best sums up what we’re experiencing every day. Also appropriate is to recognize and celebrate the host airport, Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR). It is exactly the type of airport I’m talking about here. Want to know more about GRR’s development? Read on, and then see for yourself as you walk through its facilities on the way to the conference.

Leaders at GRR gave Airport Improvement an exclusive opportunity to showcase their Concourse A Expansion, the first large-scale project of the airport’s $600 million ELEVATE capital development program. We’re grateful to produce this story and share it with you.

When you’re at ACI-NA, please come to the exhibit hall to say hello and celebrate the good times our industry is enjoying. You’ll find us in Booth #313.

Cheers!

-Paul