Passenger traffic at John Glenn Columbus International Airport is down 96% in April compared with a year ago, according to new data that show how the airport has been pummeled by the coronavirus outbreak.
"That's really hard to plan for," said Joe Nardone, chief executive of the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which oversees the airport along with Rickenbacker International Airport and Bolton Field.
"We're as prepared as we can be. I'm really proud of our team."
Between 35 and 45 flights a day leave John Glenn, down from about 150 a year ago.
In March, those flights departed about half full compared with more typical levels of about 80% or more.
Lately, the numbers have been even worse.
On Tuesday, for example, 400 passengers were set to leave on 35 scheduled departures - fewer than 12 passengers per plane.
Forecasts show airport revenue is expected to be down 70% in April and 71% in May from a year ago before gradually improving the rest of the year as the nation's economy reopens.
While the airports remain open, only three of the 31 food, beverage and retail locations at John Glenn and Rickenbacker remain open.
Traffic is so weak that planes are intentionally not flying. Republic Airlines, for example, has parked 35 planes at John Glenn, and other airlines are doing similar things around the country.
Air Canada has suspended service from Columbus because of the pandemic and Spirit Airlines stopped its flights from Columbus in early April. Spirit plans to resume service with flights three times a week beginning Sunday.
While regularly scheduled cargo traffic at Rickenbacker is lower, there has been an influx of fights from China and the airport has become a destination for medical supplies from overseas.
Unlike other revenue sources during the pandemic, revenue from cargo service is expected to be down just 3% in April and May.
"It's been super-helpful to our bottom line," Nardone said of the cargo traffic.
The authority is slotted to receive federal stimulus money totaling $33.8 million — most of it targeted for John Glenn — that will help until, hopefully, things get better later in the year.
Nardone said the airports financially will be able to manage until things get better.
"We remain optimistic. We're in daily contact with the airlines," he said. "They remain optimistic.''
———
©2020 The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio)
Visit The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio) at www.dispatch.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
