As passengers return to Willard Airport so does hope of adding flights | Transportation

SAVOY – Willard Airport Executive Director looks forward to an increase in travel over the upcoming holiday season, but admits that there is still a long way to go to a full recovery from the pandemic, which resulted in a 74 percent decrease in passengers is .

“We anticipate that there will be more travel during the holidays,” said Tim Bannon. “Last year, most of the country was locked in with the pandemic. It is likely that vacation travel will increase dramatically from year to year since vaccinations were introduced nationwide. “

In 2019, Willards Enplanements were 105,559 passengers. In 2020 it dropped to 35,874 passengers. (Enplanement is the process of boarding an aircraft by a passenger, including an initial, stopover, or transfer of the aircraft).

Bannon predicts that the number of enplanements will reach 46,000 in 2021 by the end of the year, up 28 percent from 2020 but still less than half the 2019 numbers. Due to the drop in demand, American Airlines, the only airline serving the University of Illinois Airport, reduced daily flight departures.

Earlier this month, the airline launched its service to Charlotte, NC. set

“It was unfortunate to lose our Charlotte flight because we felt it served our market well and we would have liked to keep it,” said Bannon. “Unfortunately, our passenger numbers were too low for the flight. We hope the route will be reevaluated and reintroduced in 2022 when passenger demand for the route returns. “

Flights to Chicago and Dallas-Ft. Value still occur daily.

“I would still see the airport as a recovery and an upward trend, which is a good indicator of better times,” said Bannon.

Willard isn’t the only airport affected by the pandemic, but since it is primarily geared towards business travelers, it has been hit harder than most. The projected loss of revenue in 2020 was over half a million dollars.

Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington lost around $ 2 million in revenue with a 70 percent drop in passengers in 2020.

Peoria International Airport estimated the losses at nearly $ 1 million and reported a 69 percent drop in passenger numbers following the pandemic.

“The vast majority of commercial airports across the country have had problems in the past 18 months,” said Bannon. “The overall demand for travel has fallen significantly, and the type of traveler has also changed. Airports and destinations geared towards vacation travel have outperformed airports primarily supported by business travel as vacation travel has remained constant even during the pandemic.

“Willard Airport primarily supports business travel, so we have seen a significant reduction in travel volumes and were more affected than our comparable airports in the region. As business travel continues to grow, we will continue to improve our passenger numbers. “

The airport received $ 1.8 million in airport investments, airport operating costs and airport debt under the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) law last year.

Bannon called the funding “critical relief” that kept the airport fully operational during the pandemic. The money was used for business expenses such as staff salaries, maintenance, security, and other necessary expenses.

During the downturn, the access road to the airport was renewed and other airport projects were completed, thanks in part to the additional funding.

But it couldn’t save everything. Hertz, which filed for bankruptcy, closed its facility and Einstein Bagels temporarily closed but recently reopened.

“They are now open every day of the week except Tuesdays and Saturdays,” Bannon said. “The feedback from our passengers was great.

“The next step is to continue recovery to our normal flight schedule,” he added. “We currently have a reduced flight schedule due to passenger demand. As soon as we have recovered to the level of 2019, we can push for other destinations at that time. “

Prior to the pandemic, there were discussions about including Washington, DC as a travel destination.

“Washington, DC is still a work in progress, and we believe there is a lot of demand in Champaign County to maintain at least a profitable round-trip flight every day,” he said.

“We continue to meet regularly with airlines to talk about Washington, DC, but ultimately it is up to the airline to decide whether or not to add the destination.”

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