For the first time since 2009, the Marathon International Airport may be headed for commercial air service. The Monroe County Commission discussed the future of the industry at the newly-upgraded airfield in its Feb. 18 session.
In January, Richard Strickland, director of airports, reviewed the recent upgrades to the county-owned airport, headlined by a $30.1 million runway relocation that finished in October 2025. The move brought the airfield into compliance with FAA standards, separating the runway from the taxiway so that larger planes’ wings could pass by while traveling in opposite directions.
A $2.2 million terminal roof replacement, paid for by a Florida Department of Transportation grant and local match, raised the building to hurricane standards, along with a $1 million installation of impact windows and doors.
FedEx, which has leased space from the airport since 2001, recently re-paved its parking lot, installed a new gate for service vehicles and made improvements to access for air cargo. Fixed-base operator Million Air completed a $5 million fuel farm project at the close of 2025, bringing two 30,000-gallon jet fuel tanks online as a lifeline for hurricane resistance.
“The total capital investment in a short period of time is $40 million, $37 million of which is either grant-funded or other people’s money,” Strickland told the commission in January.
Questioned by commissioner David Rice on the feasibility and timeline for commercial air service at the upgraded airport, Strickland promised a “complete picture” at February’s session.
“I think the end game answer is yes, but there are a number of factors there affecting how we get that done,” Strickland said.
Delivering his update on Wednesday morning, Strickland said the airport would likely target three initial routes on regional jets to begin service: an American Airlines flight to Miami, a Delta route to Atlanta and a United flight to Washington Dulles.
Costs to begin service, he estimated, would total just north of $11 million – $8.4 million in necessary modifications to the Marathon terminal to prep for commercial service, $150,000 to provide for the move of two 1,500-gallon fire trucks from Key West to Marathon, roughly $800,000 in an access control badge system for perimeter entrances around the airport, and a projected revenue guarantee of $1.7 million to incentivize commercial carriers.
Strickland said he anticipated the U.S. Department of Transportation could cover about $1 million of the revenue guarantee through the Small Community Air Service Development program (SCASD) grant, along with a separate FAA grant to fund $8 million in terminal improvements, plus $400,000 from the county’s airport fund.
He estimated the community would need to offer about a 30% match to remain competitive with other applicants for the SCASD grant around the country – a match he said could be partially provided through Tourist Development Council funds as well as contributions from the hospitality industry, local businesses, the Chamber of Commerce and the city of Marathon. In 2024, the federal grant doled out about $12 million to 14 applicants, mostly used for minimum revenue guarantees in smaller communities.
Commercial service would eventually require an additional bay for the Marathon Fire Rescue station to accommodate the larger fire trucks, as well as a future rehab of the existing taxiway, he said.
“Where we’re trying to do things is the economic impact, not so much whether the airport itself is going to be a profit center – you need a little more airline service from more than one carrier to generate those kinds of revenues,” Strickland said. “It does (also) remove vehicle traffic from the roadway … so I think if there’s an opportunity for this to be successful, it’s now.”
“After Delta was here in ’07, we went into the conversation of ‘the chicken or the egg’ – eggs meaning rooms,” said Marathon Chamber of Commerce CEO Daniel Samess. “We have a lot more eggs in Marathon with Isla Bella, vacation rentals and other resorts that have opened or expanded.”
Samess referenced $30,000 safeguarded by the Chamber for nearly two decades to support future commercial air service, left over from local matching funds when Delta abandoned its previous contract with a revenue guarantee.
“Our local resorts I know are very eager to help, and we’re going to be asking for that help,” Samess said.
“Over the last 15 years, there’s hardly been a period of time that somebody wasn’t talking to me about the need for commercial service at Marathon,” said Mayor Pro Tem David Rice. “With the Delta effort, there were two or three identifiable issues that made it difficult for them to survive. … We know what the problems were, and we can be of assistance to an incoming airline to avoid those areas.”
“I understand (Key West) is our number one top priority, but for the economic vitality of the Middle Keys, it’s always been my goal to get a commercial airline back into Marathon,” said Mayor Michelle Lincoln.
All five commissioners offered their support to continue pursuing commercial service, later approving $188,002 for the design of terminal renovations and expansion at the Marathon Airport by consulting firm Jacobs Project Management.
