05/25/2022

Cincinnati Business Courier / Chris Wetterich / May 25, 2022

By one measure, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in April had its best month since the pandemic started.

The passenger volume in April was at 84% of what it was in the same month in 2019, the best percentage the airport has posted in such a comparison since March 2020 when airports and airlines were sent into a tailspin by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The recovery continues to be powered by leisure travel, which has almost completely returned to pre-pandemic levels. That’s borne out by CVG’s two ultra-low cost carriers, Frontier and Allegiant Airlines. Allegiant’s number of enplaned passengers was at 99% of 2019 levels in April, while Frontier’s was at nearly 130%. Both airlines offer a low base price, with fees for everything from a seat assignment to beverages to overhead baggage.

Nearly all of such airlines’ traffic is leisure travel.

“Low-cost carriers have done better than any other carrier type during the pandemic,” said Bobby Spann, CVG’s vice president for external affairs.

In April, CVG had 304,089 enplaned passengers, the fifth-highest total number since March 2020.

FULL STORY HERE (subscription-based)