Mobile Regional Airport closed out February with another month of passenger growth, extending a streak of gains that officials say is the airport’s longest since the mid-1990s.
According to figures compiled from American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, 25,408 passengers boarded or deplaned at the airport last month. That total is up from just under 22,000 passengers recorded in February of the previous year, a year-over-year increase of about 16.4 percent. The figure also marks nine consecutive months of passenger growth at the facility.
Airport officials attributed the increase to lower fares and expanded flight capacity offered by the three carriers, all of which provide non-stop service from Mobile to five major U.S. cities.
“We’re happy to see the public responding so positively to the lower fares and added capacity which our airline partners are offering at Mobile Regional Airport,” said Brian Belcher, the airport’s director of marketing and air service development. “The Airport Authority and staff are committed to making this airport the airport of choice for the residents of this region.”
The Mobile Airport Authority has spent recent years courting additional airline service and working to keep fares competitive with airports in Pensacola and New Orleans, both of which draw some travelers away from the Mobile market. Steady passenger growth is seen by authority officials as a key factor in persuading airlines to add flights, since carriers typically expand service to markets that already show rising demand.
The growth comes at a pivotal moment for the Airport Authority, which is now searching for new leadership. Executive Director Roger Wehner announced his resignation earlier this year after three years in the position, and the authority’s board has not yet named a successor. Whoever takes over will inherit an airport in the midst of its best sustained passenger growth in roughly two decades, along with the ongoing work of expanding air service and holding down costs for local travelers.
Airport officials said they expect to continue working with American, Delta and United to add capacity and pursue new routes as passenger demand continues to build.