(WKYT) – The London-Corbin Airport is receiving a combined $12.5 million to renovate and repair facilities damaged by the May 2025 tornado that struck the area.
Congressman Hal Rogers said $8.5 million of that total comes from federal funds, with an additional $4 million appropriated by the Kentucky General Assembly.
Tornado left an estimated $12 million in damage
Airport Manager Matthew Singer said the storm caused an estimated $12 million in damage to the facility.
“That’s an airplane on top of a helicopter on top of a car on top of five other airplanes,” Singer said, describing photos taken after the tornado.
Singer said seven hangars were destroyed in the storm.
“Behind me is the pads where we lost seven hangers,” he said.
Part of the funding will go toward renovation of the airport’s terminal, which was built in the 1980s.
Airport’s role in the region
Singer said the airport serves a key economic function for the region. It is home to medevac helicopter companies and has hosted Air Force Two for Vice Presidents Nixon, Bush and Pence. Singer said corporate executives also use the airport when evaluating potential business investments in the area.
“They can fly in, do business, be back, get on the jet and go to the next place,” Singer said.
An airport economic impact study shows the London-Corbin Airport contributes $2 million a year to the local economy.
Nearby residents still rebuilding
The tornado also destroyed homes near the airport. Monroe Murphy, who lives in a nearby trailer park, said the storm knocked him out of his mobile home and into his yard. Fifteen months later, he is still working to move into a replacement trailer feet away from where his original home stood.
“Everything turned out great — FEMA helped out tremendously, paid me for everything I had,” Murphy said. “Whatever the airport over there is getting, I’m sure they deserve it because they lost a lot of buildings.”
The May 2025 tornado outbreak claimed 19 lives across three counties.