U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, along with Representative Dean Phillips, announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded the Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie a grant of $582,401 for infrastructure improvements. This grant will allow the airport to reconstruct its taxiways. 

“Critical investments in our infrastructure help create good jobs while enhancing public safety,” Klobuchar said. “By investing in the Flying Cloud Airport, we are making an important investment in the economy of the region and enhancing public safety.”

“Airports are drivers of economic development,” said Smith. “I look forward to seeing the improvements to Flying Cloud Airport bring additional opportunities to the Twin Cities metro area.”

“From visitors flying in for sports events to business travelers heading to Minnesota’s many corporate headquarters, Flying Cloud is an invaluable tourism resource and employer in our community,” said Phillips. “I’m pleased to welcome this funding into Minnesota and am committed to ensuring that Flying Cloud remains a transportation hub for years to come.”

Flying Cloud serves the southwest Twin Cities metro area with three runways. The airport has a total annual economic output of $229 million and supports nearly 1,200 jobs, including 340 jobs that are directly tied to on-site business. It is one of the busiest airports in the Metropolitan Airports Commission reliever system, seeing more than 88,700 landings and takeoffs in 2018. 

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