The airport's parking facility is also in the middle of an addition. Directly across the street from the airport, the economy lot is being expanded by 550 spots and will be open for business by Thanksgiving.

"Our year-to-date growth has put us on track to reach a goal we set for ourselves and our community years ago... to see our one millionth passenger walk through our corridors within one calendar year," Rice says. "At our current pace, this should occur by the end of October or early in November. This kind of success would not be possible without an incredible amount of support from our airline partners and the travelers who have discovered that flying from Flint is less expensive and more convenient than flying from other nearby facilities."

Over the last several years, Bishop has positioned itself as an alternative for Detroit's northern suburbs versus making the commute to the larger Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus, which is south of Detroit. In a 2004 survey, almost as many passengers who work in Oakland County (34%) use Bishop as do Genesee County employees (38%).