Peoria Station

The coronavirus scare has caused predictable congestion at Chicago-O'Hare International Airport. This article  explains the issues, and how nearby Rockford is benefitting.  Limited capacity in commercial airliners has shifted more business to dedicated air cargo firms. This has taxed capacity at O'Hare's outdated freight facilities. Congestion on the ground is expensive in terms of fuel, and delays for customers intolerable. That is why two freight forwarders -  D. B. Schenker and Senator International - have relocated some air cargo flights to Chicago-Rockford International Airport.  I've always wondered why Peoria was never able to attract international air cargo service. Caterpillar is a big user of air freight for emergency parts shipments out of its Morton, Illinois facility with shipments bound for distribution centers in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Japan, etc. There are other local firms that use international air cargo for time-sensitive shipments....

This afternoon, I was close to Peoria International Airport, so I decided to check the arrival lineup.  Turns out, Mesa Airlines dba American Eagle Flt# 5972, oprerated by a 76-seat Canadair CRJ900 twinjet, was enroute from Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. I turned on my scanner to check airport information, quickly learning that only Runway 22 was being used for arrivals and departures on this warm Easter Sunday. That made the decision to wait for Mesa 5972 a lot easier. It arrived Peoria Int'l Airport at 1517 hours Sunday, April 4, 2021. I hope to resume planespotting this year. A trip to Chicago-O'Hare is in order.  - David P. Jordan