Monroe County Approves $500,000 in TDC Funds to Restore Marathon Airport Air Service

Monroe County commissioners voted March 11 to commit $500,000 in Tourist Development Council funds toward restoring commercial air service at Florida Keys Marathon International Airport, clearing a critical hurdle in an effort estimated to cost just over $11 million.

The TDC allocation serves as part of the mandatory local match required to pursue a Small Community Air Service Development Program grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Without demonstrating that local funding commitment, the county cannot unlock the $1 million federal grant the plan depends on.

The full funding picture assembled to reach the $11 million target draws from four primary sources: an $8 million FAA grant application for terminal work that the airport has already submitted, the $1 million DOT Small Community Air Service Development grant, $550,000 from the county's Marathon airport fund, and the $500,000 in TDC funds the commission approved at its March 11 meeting at the Murray E. Nelson Government and Cultural Center in Key Largo. The remaining balance is expected to come from a community match involving local chambers of commerce, the city of Marathon, and the hospitality industry, with additional contributions sought from private donors across the Middle Keys. Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Daniel Samess has pledged to help raise those funds.

The $500,000 TDC allocation is slated to be included in the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget, subject to review and formal recommendation by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

The terminal project that the funding would support builds on nearly $40 million in capital investments already made at the airport over the last several years. Officials are framing the new push as qualitatively different from a previous attempt: commercial flights at Marathon failed to take hold in the late 2000s, but officials now point to substantial growth in lodging and accommodations across the Middle Keys over the past two decades as evidence the region can sustain scheduled carriers.

The March 11 commission meeting also included agenda items on a potential code amendment governing the use of conservation lands, completing designs for a mooring field dockmaster facility, and soliciting bids for an artificial reef contractor.

Whether the DOT grant application has been formally filed and which carriers have been approached remain open questions. The community fundraising campaign led in part by Samess is also in early stages, with no specific dollar commitments from private donors yet publicly confirmed.