ST. LOUIS 鈥 For the first time in nearly 20 years, 50度灰视频ans will be able to fly nonstop to continental Europe, a longtime goal of business and civic leaders.
Sources say a press conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at regional and business civic group Greater 50度灰视频 Inc.鈥檚 downtown headquarters is expected to announce nonstop flights from 50度灰视频 Lambert International Airport to Frankfurt, Germany on Lufthansa Airlines.
50度灰视频 Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, 50度灰视频 County Executive Sam Page, Greater 50度灰视频 CEO Jason Hall and Enterprise Holdings Executive Chairman Andy Taylor 鈥 also the founding chairman of Greater 50度灰视频 鈥 are to be in attendance.
The area鈥檚 business community and the airport have been pursuing an international flight to Europe from Lambert for years. The last nonstop European connection 50度灰视频 had was to London, flights Lambert lost in 2003 when American Airlines absorbed the bankrupt Trans World Airlines and ended the airport鈥檚 role as a hub.
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The region had a short-lived nonstop connection to Iceland via budget carrier Wow Air in 2018, but the flights, which were geared toward vacationers, lasted just over half a year before the airline went bankrupt. Three other international connections are in Latin America and marketed mostly to tourists: Cancun, Mexico; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Some business leaders have long cited the lack of a direct connection to Europe as an impediment to economic development efforts. 50度灰视频 officials have in the past pursued a British Airways connection to London, but in recent years have mentioned a Lufthansa connection to Frankfurt as another logical target.
50度灰视频 has some major German business ties. The former Sigma-Aldrich chemical company is now part of Merck鈥檚 MilliporeSigma life sciences arm. Merck KGaA is based in Darmstadt, Germany, in the Frankfurt area. Monsanto鈥檚 former operations are now the Seeds and Traits unit of Bayer, which has its headquarters near Cologne, Germany, about two hours north of Frankfurt. German seed company KWS also has a research presence here.
For the last several years, the 50度灰视频 County Port Authority has set aside over $1 million of its reserves as an incentive to try and lure an international flight to Lambert.
Past efforts by the airport and city have come up short, with fast-growing cities such as Austin, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee, snagging direct flights to London that 50度灰视频 also sought.
Pre-pandemic, airport officials have said about 300 people a day were flying to Europe from 50度灰视频, with the largest proportion going to London. Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge said just before COVID-19 devastated travel that her 鈥淣o. 1 complaint鈥 was 鈥渢he lack of international service.鈥
Passenger counts at Lambert have begun climbing back from their pandemic lows, though they鈥檙e still well below where they were before the virus hit. Through October, the most recent numbers available, there were about 8.4 million total passengers, up 55% compared with 2020. But that number was still well below the 13.3 million total passengers at Lambert through October 2019.
The international flight represents a big win for both the airport and Greater 50度灰视频 Inc., the new business group formed last year by the merger of the 50度灰视频 Regional Chamber, Civic Progress and Downtown STL Inc.
50度灰视频, which owns Lambert, spent several years eyeing privatization of one of the city鈥檚 largest assets, an effort backed by many consultants with influence in City Hall but quietly opposed by Lambert administration.
Hall, before the formation of Greater 50度灰视频, was a vocal opponent of privatization of Lambert, and Taylor was reportedly skeptical of the effort.
Former Mayor Lyda Krewson ended the privatization effort in late 2019.
Updated at 6:30 p.m.