An audit shows that a southwestern Illinois airport that's never turned a profit since opening with great fanfare 13 years ago continues to lose money.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports that the review by J.W. Boyle & Co. found that MidAmerica St. Louis Airport had an operating loss of $11.9 million in 2010. That's 4.3 percent less than the previous year.
St. Clair County says the amount of money it spent to subsidize the airport's operations was 58 percent less than in 2009 and operating revenues rose nearly 14 percent.
The airport has had trouble getting off the ground as a passenger and cargo hub since opening in 1998. With passenger service gone since 2009, promoters want to establish MidAmerica as an international cargo hub for business with China.
