Springfield airport marks second-busiest month on record

For the second month in a row, the Springfield-Branson National Airport posted record-breaking passenger numbers despite steep declines earlier in the year.

June was the second-busiest month for passenger traffic in the airport's history, with 85,976 passengers, according to an airport news release. The busiest month on record is June 2005, which recorded 88,024 passengers.

The June number is 10 percent higher than the passenger count in June 2008, and it follows a whopping 17 percent increase in May, when the airport opened its new terminal.

Passenger numbers were down 12 percent at the airport in 2008 and fell 14 percent and 15 percent in January and February, respectively, but officials began to see a turnaround in March and April, when numbers were relatively flat.

The airport recorded the growth despite having 15 percent fewer flights compared to last June, according to the release. Delta dropped Springfield-to-Detroit service in April, and there have been capacity cuts across the board. The growth also comes at a time when industry analysts are expecting the year to end with a 9 percent reduction in U.S. air travel.

Officials attribute the increase to a combination of factors, including sales on airfare, a higher awareness of the airport due to marketing and media coverage of the new terminal, competition with the new Branson Airport that's driving down fares, and growth in Allegiant Air's low-cost service to tourist destinations, airport spokesman Kent Boyd said on the airport's blog.

Aviation Director Gary Cyr said the economy and cost of fares would determine whether the upswing will last.

"If the airlines start hiking fares in a significant way, I suspect we'll have fewer customers," Cyr said in the release. "On the other hand, the relative strength of the Springfield area economy may keep our numbers growing."