Passenger numbers down at airport; projects under way

Airport officials in Dothan were not surprised that the number of people flying in and out of Dothan decreased last month when compared to the same time last year.

“Everyone is cutting back,” said Angela McNeal, marketing director at Dothan Regional Airport.

Statistics recently released show 530 fewer people flew out of Dothan in January of 2009 when compared to January of 2008 — a drop of about 14.5 percent. Meanwhile, 361 fewer people flew into Dothan during the same time period, a drop of 9.76 percent.

McNeal said the most likely reason for the drop in passengers is the economic recession.

“We’re having fewer people traveling for leisure and many businesses are cutting back on travel too,” she said.

Dothan’s numbers are close to a recent report released by the International Air Transport Association, which stated premium ticket purchases decreased in December by 13.3 percent worldwide, with economy ticket purchases falling by 5.3 percent.

Meanwhile, two airport improvement projects are currently under way and another is about to start.

Airport Manager Art Morris said the airport is in the process of acquiring land at the south end of one of its runways to comply with federal regulations that require a “safety zone” at each end. Morris said part of the airport taxiway has recently been repaved and is expected to be repainted soon.

Also, the airport will be using a $2.4 million federal appropriation to repave its primary runway. Morris said the 8,500-foot runway has not been resurfaced since 1996. Morris said he expected the project to begin soon, but no startup date had been scheduled. He also said flights would be diverted to another runway during the project.

“It will be a little disruptive to traffic, but it will move us from a runway that is already good to one that is great,” Morris said.