Metropolitan Airports Commission

What Metropolitan Airports Commission does

The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) is a public corporation of the State of Minnesota, established in 1943 under Chapter 500, Laws of Minnesota 1943, that owns and operates Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and six general aviation reliever airports (Airlake, Anoka County-Blaine, Crystal, Flying Cloud, Lake Elmo, and St. Paul Downtown) within 35 miles of the Twin Cities downtowns. MSP serves as a major hub for Delta Air Lines and handled nearly 35 million passengers in 2023; MAC completed a $242 million Terminal 1 renovation that year spanning six concourses and approximately 75 Delta gate hold rooms. The organization employs approximately 650 people across headquarters, two main terminals, two fire stations, a field maintenance facility, an airport trades center, and the six reliever airports.

MAC's core offerings are infrastructure-based: airport operations and airfield management, concessions and retail leasing, ground transportation regulation (taxicab permits, TNC ordinances), hotel facility charges under Ordinance 125, and real estate leasing (hangar and ground space). Technology components include the Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) system that dispatches and tracks permitted taxicabs, the MSP Reserve online security reservation platform (which scaled from roughly 2,500 to 7,334 weekly users in early 2026), and a recently opened 3,800-square-foot gaming lounge (Portal Lounge) co-developed with Gameway in May 2026. MSP ranked #1 in the U.S. for customer satisfaction in the 2025 J.D. Power survey.

MAC generates revenue through multiple streams: airport concessions and leases (retail, F&B, passenger services, with a new RFP cycle underway for late 2026 awards), ground transportation and TNC fees (Ordinance 124), hotel facility charges (Ordinance 125), ground rental and real estate, and revenue share from Priority Pass-enabled lounge access. The 2026 Concessions RFP and planned 2029 modernization across Terminals 1 and 2 represent the primary near-term commercial transformation. As a government authority, MAC is owned by the State of Minnesota and governed by a Board of Commissioners; no private equity or venture capital ownership is applicable.

Name

Metropolitan Airports Commission

Legal name

Metropolitan Airports Commission

Website

https://metroairports.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1943

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Metropolitan Airports Commission is a Minnesota public corporation that owns and operates Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and six reliever airports, serving Delta Air Lines hub passengers and Twin Cities general aviation users.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Airport Operations

NAICS

Airport Operations (48811), Other Airport Operations (488119)

SIC

Airports, Flying Fields & Airport Terminal Services (4581)

akta.pro primary industry

Airport Ground Transport Terminals (Rail/Bus/Coach) (THAIALAG)

Keywords

• Airport operations
• Airport management
• Aviation services
• Concessions leasing
• Ground transportation

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Airport Concessions & Leases: MAC generates revenue through leasing retail, passenger services, and food & beverage concessions space at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. New leases for renovated concessions are to be awarded in late 2026.
2. Ground Transportation Fees: Revenue from taxicab permits, per-trip fees, airport use fees, commercial vehicle ordinances, and transportation network company (Uber/Lyft) regulations (Ordinance 124).
3. Hotel Facility Charge: Percentage charge on gross receipts from hotel room rentals to fund capital costs, maintenance, and operations of hotel facilities (parking ramps, skyways, access roads) per Ordinance 125.
4. Ground Rental & Real Estate: Revenue from leasing ground space, hangar space, and property at MSP and six reliever airports (Airlake, Anoka County-Blaine, Crystal, Flying Cloud, Lake Elmo, St. Paul Downtown).
5. Priority Pass Program Revenue: Portal Lounge charges $70 per person or offers free admission through Priority Pass credit card programs. MAC receives revenue share or licensing through this arrangement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) is a 650-person public corporation that owns and operates Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and six general aviation reliever airports in the Twin Cities area. It provides airport infrastructure, concessions and ground transportation leasing, security checkpoint reservation services, and aviation facility management for nearly 35 million annual passengers and aviation operators.

Product overview

The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) is a 650-person government organization that operates a system of seven airports in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The primary offering is Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), a major commercial aviation hub serving nearly 35 million passengers annually as a Delta Air Lines hub. MAC also operates six general aviation reliever airports (Airlake, Anoka County-Blaine, Crystal, Flying Cloud, Lake Elmo, and St. Paul Downtown) designed to draw traffic away from MSP. Services include airport operations, concessions management, security reservation programs (MSP Reserve), and online bill payment. This is not a technology product company but a public airport authority providing aviation infrastructure and related passenger services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)

Quantifiable outcome

• Saves 20-35 minutes during peak security checkpoint times through MSP Reserve reservation program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Gameway (Portal Lounge)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026Gameway co-founded Portal Lounge, a 3,800-square-foot video game lounge at MSP Airport opened May 28, 2026. Features 17 gaming stations and a robotic bartender named Toni. Gameway co-founder Jordan Walbridge created the concept after losing his job in 2017. This is described as the first gaming lounge of its kind at an airport with planned expansion to other locations.
• Delta Air LinescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDelta Air Lines is the primary hub airline at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. MAC and Delta completed the largest Terminal 1 renovation ($242 million) spanning six concourses and approximately 75 gate hold rooms with new flooring, LED lighting, seating, and dynamic gate signs. Delta is a central strategic partner in airport operations and modernization.
• Priority PassminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPriority Pass credit card programs provide free admission to Portal Lounge at MSP Airport as a customer benefit targeting millennial and Gen Z travelers. Lounge charges $70 per person for non-members.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Greater Orlando Aviation Authority: Operates Orlando International Airport (~50M passengers) plus Orlando Executive Airport. Closely comparable mid-sized hub-plus-reliever authority structure and concession/non-aero revenue model to MAC.
• Wayne County Airport Authority: Operates Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (a Delta hub of comparable size to MSP) and Willow Run. Mirrors MAC's Delta-hub commercial model and multi-airport authority governance.
• Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport): Operates Boston Logan International plus Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional. Public-authority governance, mid-to-large hub throughput, and multi-airport portfolio closely parallel MAC's structure.
• Allegheny County Airport Authority: Operates Pittsburgh International and Allegheny County Airport. Mid-sized hub authority with comparable throughput and a similar authority-operates-hub-and-reliever model.
• Indianapolis Airport Authority: Operates Indianapolis International plus several reliever airports. Comparable Midwest hub authority with similar passenger throughput and multi-airport governance.
• Hillsborough County Aviation Authority: Operates Tampa International and general aviation facilities. Mid-sized hub with a recent major terminal modernization, very similar to MAC's $242M Terminal 1 program.
• Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority: Operates Reagan National and Washington Dulles. Multi-airport authority with governance and capital-investment cadence that closely tracks MAC's hub-and-reliever model.
• San Diego County Regional Airport Authority: Operates San Diego International and former Brown Field. Revenue mix from concessions, ground transport, and real estate mirrors MAC's, with similar authority-driven decision-making.

Broad incumbents

• Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: Operates JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Stewart, and Teterboro — a much larger inter-state multi-airport authority with overlapping air-travel, ground-transport, and commercial real-estate functions.
• Denver International Airport (City and County of Denver): City-and-county operated hub (~77M passengers) with a comparable diversified concessions, ground transport, and real estate model at materially larger scale than MSP.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/metropolitan-airports-commission

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Metropolitan Airports Commission