Flying Cloud airport breaks ground on major improvements

Major improvements are coming to Flying Cloud Airport in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie.

So-called "reliever" airports, like Flying Cloud, take the pressure off large airports like Twin Cities International.

Jack Lanners is chairman of the Metropolitan Airports Commission. He said Flying Cloud's $27 million worth of upgrades will include longer runways, so business aircraft can fly more efficiently.

"If they can utilize the airport with a full-functioning aircraft, that means loaded with as many people as it's designed to hold, put enough fuel on it to get to where they need to go to do business, which they cannot necessarily do right now, that's a big plus," Lanners said.

Lanners said Flying Cloud's runways should be ready to go in 2010.

He and other officials will appear at special ground-breaking ceremonies today at Flying Cloud.