Central Illinois Regional Airport
commercial airport near Bloomington, Illinois, USA
Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington–Normal (IATA: BMI, ICAO: KBMI, FAA LID: BMI) is a public airport in McLean County, Illinois, three miles east of Bloomington and southeast of Normal. Owned by the Bloomington–Normal Airport Authority, it is also known as Central Illinois Regional Airport (CIRA).
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2023–2027 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 262,846 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 243,448 in 2009 and 274,677 in 2010.
In 2023, Central Illinois Regional Airport saw 164,672 passenger boardings ranking the airport as the 198th busiest airport in the United States.
The 2013 Federal sequester would have resulted in the closure of the airport's control tower, but the Federal Aviation Administration ultimately reversed its decision.
First airfield in Normal
The origins of an airport in the Bloomington-Normal community dates back to 1927, when farmer Herman Will opened a 70-plus-acre tract in rural Normal Township. Bordering the field to the west was the recently paved Illinois 2 (today U.S. 51/Main Street), and to the east was the Illinois Central Railroad (today Constitution Trail) and where the Kerrick grain elevator once stood. The Bloomington Flying Club helped rally the general public and local leaders behind the economic promise of "heavier-than-air" flight. The club owned a "Jenny"-type open-cockpit biplane, and the non-profit organization evidently helped pay for both the construction of a hangar and day-to-day operations of the field.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Central Illinois Regional Airport” as commercial airport near Bloomington, Illinois, USA. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as commercial airport near Bloomington, Illinois, USA. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1962462. Authority coordinates are 40.477, -88.916. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2023, 2027, 2008 and 2009.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Central Illinois Regional Airport”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Central Illinois Regional Airport primary sources, Central Illinois Regional Airport archive and Central research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Central Illinois Regional Airport”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Central Illinois Regional Airport” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.