Airport News:

Economy Dampens First Quarter Activity in Columbus

COLUMBUS – April 29 - Slowing national and international economies significantly impacted Port Columbus International Airport and Rickenbacker International Airport in the first quarter of 2009, including the month of March.

Statistics released at today’s meeting of the Columbus Regional Airport Authority Board of Directors show that in the first quarter of 2009 Port Columbus passenger activity was down significantly compared to 2008. In the first quarter nearly 1.4 million passengers used Port Columbus, down 24.7 percent from 2008. For the month of March passenger statistics show Port Columbus had a 22.9 percent drop in passengers compared to the previous year.

“The decrease in 2009 passenger traffic is primarily attributable to a soft national economy and Skybus Airlines, which handled nearly 340,000 passengers in the first quarter of 2008 and later ceased operations,” explained David Whitaker, Vice President of Business Development & Communications. “If the economy rebounds we expect to see passenger numbers resume to more favorable levels later in the year.”

Port Columbus provides 151 daily departures to 33 airports in addition to a weekly Cancun flight. The 11 air carriers at Port Columbus include Apple Vacations, Air Canada Jazz, AirTran, American, Continental, Delta, Midwest Connect, Northwest, Southwest, United, US Airways and the regional affiliates associated with many of these major airlines.

Activity is also down at Rickenbacker International Airport, which reported a 23 percent drop in cargo activity during the first quarter of 2009. Year-to-date numbers reflect the movement of nearly 39 million pounds of cargo through the airport, which is down 23 percent from the previous year. Over 13.7 million pounds of cargo moved through the airport in March, which equates to a 25 percent drop compared to March 2008.

Rickenbacker is a multi-modal cargo airport that features an impressive network of freight forwarders and cargo airlines such as FedEx, UPS, Evergreen International, Kalitta and Atlas as well as a U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone. In addition to the airport’s cargo service, the Rickenbacker Charter Terminal will soon welcome Direct Air with twice weekly passenger service to Myrtle Beach beginning on May 20.