Bishop International Airport has evolved considerably over the years – from just a dirt road and a dream into a state-of-the-art facility that has flown more than 1.9 million passengers in a nine-year period.
It all started when the family of Arthur Giles Bishop donated 220 acres of farmland to the City of Flint. An airport was built in 1928 on the property and was operated by the City of Flint. In 1987, voters passed a millage to make improvements and the BIA Authority was created, which included establishing a nine-member board. Jim Rice, former airport director, described the condition of the facility as “a very old bus depot” when he took the position back in 1989. Within two years, Bristol Road and an old railway were moved and the new terminal was built. Since then, five expansions have been made as the Mott Foundation helped with several grants over the years. After 24 years with Bishop, Jim Rice retired from his position as director last year and Craig Williams was appointed as his successor.
Falding Bishop Gadola is the great-granddaughter of Arthur Bishop, and the only member of the Bishop family who still lives in the area. The airport is a big part of her childhood memories. “I remember my father, Russell Bishop, Jr., had a flying school at the airport with David Dort right after World War II,” says Falding. “I was just a little girl then.” Her most prominent memory of the airport, however, is taking her first flight when she was a high school freshman. “My first flight was from Flint to Traverse City on Capital Airlines,” she remembers, “and it was pretty exciting.” She also remembers going up on the roof of the old airport building to watch the planes fly in and out. “A lot of people would do that,” she smiles. “It was wonderful.” Falding explains how much more comfortable it was to fly back then. Security wasn’t an issue and “we weren’t squeezed into the plane like a can of sardines,” she says with a laugh. Falding was just six years old when her great-grandfather died, but she does remember playing in his backyard near the chestnut trees at his beautiful home on Kearsley Street. The home was razed a few years back. “I am very, very proud of my family,” she adds.
The former director, Jim Rice, has many memories of the airport and still remembers his initial reaction when he saw the terminal – buckets on the floor all over the place catching rainwater. What the heck am I doing here? he asked himself. But that reaction soon took a positive turn when he saw the excitement of the newly formed Airport Authority. “My best memory is of the people who helped make the airport what it is today,” says Jim, “and the people who work at the airport, all of them. We were all one big family.” Another milestone he remembers is when AirTran Airways came to Flint in 1997, and business at the airport began to really take off. The airport is currently served by several airlines, including Southwest, Delta, United and American.
Fred McClellan worked at Bishop Airport for 60 years as a fixed-base operator at McClellan Aircraft Maintenance. Although he is now retired and has sold the business, he is at the airport every day and recalls many, many memories of it. At a personal level, Fred loved watching the Blue Angels – the Naval aerobatic team – performing at Bishop. “The airport buzzed like bees in a hive during those shows,” he remembers. He recalls riding in a B-51 military fighter plane that was based at Bishop. “That was quite the experience!” But the highlight for Fred was when the new terminal was built. “It was transformed from a very dark and dreary building to a delightful place for passengers to travel to and from all over the United States,” he says. He gives much of the credit to the former director. “Jim Rice helped put BIA on the map and helped make it a valuable part of the community.”
“The airport has a long and rich history, stretching back to when we were just dirt and a dream. I am proud to have been chosen to take over the helm at Bishop International Airport, and to work with our community to take it to its next level of success.”
Craig Williams, Airport Director
“I remember when it seemed like the only place you could fly non-stop from Flint was Detroit. Now, we have the top four airlines in the nation, and all of them fly jets from our facility. We can fly non-stop or connect around the globe, usually with just one connection. We have come a long way in just the last 16 years.”
Pat Corfman, Director of Marketing & Public Relations
