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August 25, 2025
APPLETON – The Appleton International Airport (ATW) continues to be an economic force to be reckoned with.
Airport and county leaders recently announced the results of a study showing the airport’s annual economic impact on the region is close to $2 billion.
ATW Director Abe Weber said the last economic impact study was conducted in 2015, when the airport generated $676 million in total economic impact.
Outagamie County Executive Thomas Nelson said it’s clear the airport is “our most valuable economic engine.”
“Our growth has a multiplier effect on the region and supports our continued investment in the expansion of services and facilities,” he said. “The airport provides nationwide access to businesses and consumers, and that makes the Fox Cities a great place to live and do business.”
Officials said the report includes direct impacts from airport operations and visitor spending, indirect impacts as airport businesses make purchases to support their operations and induced impacts as airport and tourism sector employees spend their wages in the local economy.
They said the economic impact includes Outagamie, Brown, Winnebago and Calumet counties.
“This is a testament to the support we’ve received as a community and the passengers,” Weber said. “Since the 2015 study was conducted, the airport has reached significant milestones. The airport served more than a million passengers for the first time in 2024, compared to 512,000 in 2015. It’s more than a place to grab a flight – it’s a key driver in regional growth.”
Additional ATW numbers, Weber said, include:
- The average number of departures per day was nearly 21 in 2024, rising from 13 in 2015.
- Employment at the airport has more than doubled, with 3,274 employees compared to 1,314 in 2015.
- The airport supported 7,626 jobs in 2024, including airport operations, roles with tenant companies at the airport, jobs supported by visitor spending and supported sectors such as supply chain effects. In the 2015 study, the airport supported 3,267 jobs.
- The airport’s aeronautical and hangar space has increased from two million square feet to four and a half million square feet.
- The Appleton Flight Center (FBO) dispensed three million gallons of fuel 10 years ago, compared to more than nine million gallons today.
- The airport generated $1.3 billion of direct business sales – which mostly includes spending from airport operations, with some additional spending by airport visitors. This direct activity generates additional impacts as the airport and tenants make purchases from other businesses, and as employees spend their wages. In the 2015 study, the airport generated $432 million of direct business sales.
- The total tax impact of ATW was $325.4 million, including $205.1 million paid in state and local taxes. This measures taxes generated by the airport and related businesses.
“Not only do we get to celebrate the economic impact of the airport, but we get to celebrate the 60th anniversary – that’s six decades of connecting people, creating opportunities and growing along with the Fox Cities,” Weber said.
Weber said a lot has changed since the airport’s first flight in 1965, when passengers could fly to Oshkosh for $6.
He said the continued success of ATW is due to innovative leadership on the governmental level and the dedication of its team members to service.
“Our promise to our customers is to make air travel faster, easier and more convenient, and our promise to the community is to continue to provide economic opportunities and continued growth and progress,” he said.
Weber said ATW’s success hasn’t happened by chance.
“It’s been a lot of hard work and dedicated staff, but most of all, it’s been about collaboration with our elected officials,” he said. “We owe them a tremendous amount of gratitude – that’s our local, state and federal officials.”
Continued growth
Weber said when the airport opened at its current location in 1965, Air Wisconsin Airlines was offering flights between Appleton and Chicago.
“Now the airport offers service from Allegiant, American Airlines, Delta, Sun Country Airlines and United Airlines to 22 non-stop destinations,” he said. “Thanks to the continued investment of our airline partners, we have been able to expand our flights, destinations and routes we offer consumers. And to accommodate the growth in routes, we have expanded our facilities to host larger planes and increased passenger traffic.”
The airport recently opened a $66 million concourse expansion and is renovating the existing concourse and front drive lanes.
“We’ve been able to handle the growth during the last decade and meet the moment,” Weber said. “You can see that with our new concourse, our customer experience enhancements we’ve put forth and the growth in our FBO. All of this growth has come with a sharp focus on innovation and customer experience.”
Pam Seidl, executive director of the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau (FCCVB), said ATW is an “incredible partner” in the tourism space for the organization.
“When I look at what the airport has done to grow tourism in the Fox Cities, it’s been exponential during the last five years,” she said. “In 2024, visitors – and that’s just a portion of this number – in the Fox Cities spent more than $72 million on just transportation, which includes air service.”
Seidl said that number reflects a 4.6% increase from 2023.
“There has also been a 22% increase [in visitor transportation spending] from 2019,” she said. “That’s partly due to the work that airport officials have done to make the Fox Cities a destination. We now have multiple direct-flight markets where we can market the Fox Cities – we’ve done some wonderful active campaigns through the airport’s help.”
The full economic impact report is available at atwairport.com.
ATW adds another non-stop flight
As part of its continued growth and increased economic impact, airport officials recently announced ATW’s 22nd non-stop flight option.
Starting January 2026, Allegiant Airlines will provide non-stop service to Orlando International Airport in Florida.
This new year-round flight, Weber said, will offer convenient non-stop service Fridays through Mondays, making it faster and easier for travelers to reach some of the nation’s most popular attractions.
This flight is Allegiant’s seventh non-stop destination from ATW to Florida, and the 14th non-stop flight offered by the airline.
“This is exciting for residents of Northeast Wisconsin because it puts them closer to the Theme Park Capital of the World,” Weber said. “If you have kids or grandkids looking forward to these attractions, getting there faster is a bonus.”
Though Orlando is a fun destination for Wisconsin travelers, Weber said it’s also a major investment on Allegiant’s part.
“It’s a major investment in technology, equipment, planes and support staff from Allegiant,” he said.
