The pandemic has brought different challenges to almost every business type, but one big area that took a hit was the airlines.
Jesse Romo, Director of the Manhattan Regional Airport, says the virus has not only brought down numbers in flights, but it has also caused some delay in the projects they have been working on. Romo says that budgeting for new projects has also been a challenge this year because of the down numbers.
“We recognize the fact that we have disruption to our air service right now and demand is a little bit lower with COVID restrictions in place, but eventually we are going to see some growth. This month we’ve already seen a 23% increase over last months activity,” he says.
Romo adds that with the holidays coming soon, they hope to see the numbers start to rise. He says they will have to continue adjusting each day. Romo tells KMAN that he anticipates more restrictions in 2021.
“We anticipate 2021 is probably going to look similar to 2020. We’re going to see a lot of restrictions to continue to be in place, reduced capacity across the board with gradual increases, and it’ll probably take at least a couple years before we see normal levels return,” Romo says.
Airports across the country have taken a hit during the pandemic. Just recently the country reached one-million people to pass through TSA, which is about one-third of a typical year at this point.
