CHICAGO – Chicago was given federal approval Friday to privatize Midway International Airport, and the city promptly began asking potential buyers to get in touch.

The city hopes to lease Midway for up to 40 years in a deal that would generate enough cash to pay off the airport’s roughly $1.4 billion debt, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said. Profits would be split between the private operator and the city.

A two-sentence statement released Friday by the Federal Aviation Administration said Chicago “can take the next steps to select a private airport operator” after the agency accepted a preliminary application to privatize Midway.