ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – Carrying nearly 3.5 billion pounds of cargo last year, Chicago Rockford International Airport ranks 14th on a list of the best cargo airports in the United States by the Federal Aviation Administration .

That’s three points up from 2020, when he netted over 2.5 billion pounds in weight from the floor.

“This is the highest ranking the airport has ever received,” RFD Deputy Director of Operations and Planning Zack Oakley said. “It speaks to a lot of hard workers, locally, not just the airport authority, but our partners on the ground with our businesses like Emery Air, Amazon, UPS.”

Airplanes don’t just transport cargo, they create thousands of jobs, representing more than $4.5 billion in economic growth in the region.

“A lot of these people have experience at O’Hare. To be able to bring them to Rockford and give them a transitional experience, but also bring those people into the Rockford community to see that growth as well,” says Oakley.

“They keep a very low levy on the tax base of Winnebago County citizens and provide so many jobs that those jobs are great jobs to have,” Winnebago County Chairman Joe Chiarelli said. .

RFD is also a strong hub for international flights and e-commerce, which has taken off during the pandemic.

“It’s really accelerated that growth and what we’re seeing is more and more people choosing to fly into Rockford International Airport rather than flying into some of these big airports like O’Hare” , Oakley said.

“They see the opportunity to come into Rockford, have their planes unloaded and ship them at a much higher speed,” says Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara.

Cargo arrives at the airport from several countries around the world, bringing mail and high-value items including medical and manufacturing equipment.

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