The Augusta Regional Airport is back up to between 15 and 16 flights a day compared to 13 or 14 at the start of the pandemic.
Number so daily flights have slowly crept up, and a handful of days ago, the airport brought back its Augusta-to-D.C. flight that didn’t operate for much of last year.
“It’s been a slow rise,” said Herbert Judon, executive director at Augusta Regional Airport. “Last year around the time the pandemic first hit, between late March and May, we lost about 95% of the number of usual travelers.”
Airlines across the country experienced similar drops in number of passengers.
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“Right now, we’ve been trending toward about 50% of what we were doing a year ago, and we’re seeing incremental increases,” Judon said.
The uptick has been gradual but noticeable over time for an airport that is smaller than most in size but that serves a vital role for Augusta’s travelers and economy.
“We were doing about 18 and 20 departures a day early last year and come next month, we’ll be back to 17 departures a day, so we’re getting close to where we were,” Judon said.
Judon attributes the uptick to both restless would-be travelers as well as an economy slowly waking up from COVID-19-related hibernation.
“The airlines have put in a lot of safety measures in the last year, and with the gradual rollout of the vaccine, we’re starting to see more people fly again and businesses opening up,” Judon said. “On the leisure side, people that have been locked up for a year and fatigued. They’re really wanting to get out and do something.”
For Augustans interested in travel but still feeling leery in such a strange era, Judon offered his insight.
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“The airport put in a lot of new measures, like you’d see anywhere else. There are plexiglass shields, increased cleaning protocols, hand-washing and sanitizing stations throughout the airport,” he said. “It’s a precarious time for airports, but it’s a very safe environment, and I urge people to support the Augusta airport, support the D.C. flights, the Dallas flight.”
The Dallas flight Judon mentioned was a new addition last year, but the airport is introducing a second daily flight to Dallas next month. “About 50% of the travelers on these flights end their journey in Dallas, which is also American Airlines’ largest hub, and travelers can connect to over 250 flights from there,” Judon said.
No new flights are on the horizon as of now while the airport stabilizes and approaches its baseline.
“We want to make sure these existing flights are successful, and then we will aggressively go out looking for additional markets for us,” Judon said.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
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