25 AirportImprovement.com September 2026 OPERATIONS MKG full responsibility for ordering, procurement and scheduling. Nearly every airport employee was behind on required training, which Taig recalls was the FAA’s single biggest concern: people moving around an active airfield without current credentials. Taig’s first moves were organizational and regulatory. He promoted one of the maintenance workers into a manager’s role so the FAA could see a clear chain of command. “Somebody needs to be in charge so that the inmates aren’t running the asylum,” he quips. He also rebuilt the airport’s training program from the ground up and completed major updates to its Part 139 Airport Certification Manual—wildlife hazard management, snow removal, etc. After meeting with FAA personnel, county administration and state aeronautics officials about every two weeks, regulatory compliance eventually settled. Although that immediate threat was addressed, the stakes had been nothing short of existential. At one point, the county considered letting MKG’s commercial certificate go and converting it into a general aviation field—a path Taig believed would have been unsustainable and, eventually, fatal for the airport. Instead, the certificate was preserved. Stabilizing the airport was one issue; running it was another matter. Taig was a consultant on a five-month contract; MKG needed a permanent manager. The first hire, brought in from an airport in Hilton Head, SC, had a strong year steadying the operation before family circumstances required a move to remote work. Then, just as Taig and the county worked through a thin stack of résumés, the candidate who would define the airport’s next chapter walked in. FACTS&FIGURES Project: Multi-year Operational & Facility Turnaround Location: Muskegon County Airport, in MI Owner/Sponsor: Muskegon County Key Components: Return to FAA Part 139 compliance; new essential air service carrier; $3 million terminal roof & renovation project Associated Improvements: Reopening shuttered restaurant; reviving annual air show; free public parking; 2 electric maintenance trucks; $21.3 million full-length taxiway replacement; self-serve fuel system (in process) Funding: $3.1 million in state & federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grants; $96,000 grant for electric maintenance trucks Terminal Renovation & Roof Replacement: Carbon Six Construction Taxiway Engineering & Design: C&S Companies Prime Contractor: M&M Excavating Asphalt: Reith-Riley Fuel Farm Engineering & Design: C&S Companies Prime Contractor: Carbon Six Construction Aircraft Operations: 30,000/yr Annual Passenger Volume: Nearly 101,500 (15% commercial, 85% general aviation) Commercial Carrier: Denver Air Connection
View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.