Airport passenger numbers down by double-digits

Springfield-Branson National Airport officials announced the latest passenger numbers at this morning’s Airport Board meeting. May passengers totaled 69,368, down 16 percent from May 2007. It was the largest dip since November 2001 and followed a 13 percent drop in April.

Airport Director of Public Information and Marketing Kent Boyd attributed decreasing passenger numbers partly to weather-related cancellations this year, but mostly to rising fare costs, rather than cuts in capacity.

“In 2005, airline tickets when adjusted for inflation were at all-time lows, and they really had nowhere to go but up,” Boyd said. “Then the price of fuel caught up with them. The bottom line is that ticket prices still have nowhere to go but up.”

While Boyd said it’s difficult to calculate the average price of a ticket, industry analysts say averages were up 10 percent to 13 percent in the first quarter this year.

The airport did have some good news to report; Allegiant Air’s Springfield passenger numbers were up 33 percent in May and up 19 percent for the year. When Allegiant began flying to Springfield three years ago, it ranked last in passenger numbers. The airline now is third in number of Springfield passengers carried; only American and United airlines fly more.

See SBJ’s June 23 issue for more on the airline industry and its impact on the Ozarks.