Pilots’ group buys airport

The Festus City Council voted Dec. 3 to sell the municipal airport to a group of pilots who intend to expand the facility.

City officials received two offers for the property.

The winning bid was submitted by Citizens for Airport Economic Expansion (CAEE).

Members of CAEE have worked for years to keep the airport open, initially lobbying city officials not to sell the facility after the council voted twice in recent years to list the property.

When it became clear the city intended to sell, members of CAEE helped form the Airport Investment Group, a collection of investors who planned to purchase and expand the facility.

Smaller improvements to the airport, Jefferson County’s only such facility, could also begin soon.