Due to the coronavirus, Lambert St Louis Airport has experienced a projected $17 million loss of revenue.

The airport has performed cost cutting through cutting projects, a hiring freeze, reducing budgets and approving $34,000 for a public art installation commemorating the 100th anniversary.

Wait, what?

Don’t worry the money is coming from a fund dedicated to public art and not the operating budget of the airport.

Meanwhile concessions and other businesses serving airport travelers are struggling and asking for help from the airport.  The very generous airport offered a 3 month deferral of rent to be paid sometime in the next 12 months.  Commissioner Sean Fitzgerald, a vice president at Enterprise Holdings said that wasn’t enough.

“All you’re doing,” Fitzgerald said, “is saying ‘you don’t have to file bankruptcy now, you can wait until the next day, when that overhead becomes so tremendous that you can’t make it. Providing nothing to the concessionaires other than a ‘just pay me later’ environment is totally inappropriate.”

With St Louis City Mayor Lyda Krewson and St Louis County Executive Dr Sam Page taking the very very slow path to restarting businesses in the area we can only imagine a recovery will not be quick.

But….let’s buy a statue.  #tonedeaf

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