05/20/2020

Cincinnati Enquirer / Cole Behrens / May 20, 2020

Travelers looking to fly in or out of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) may find themselves with fewer options to get them to their destination as 53 out of its 88 routes have been temporarily suspended, according to data presented Monday to the airport’s board.

The airport is still operating 34 nonstop flights, with three more to be added back on in June, according to Mindy Kershner, a company spokesperson. Flights to LaGuardia in New York City and Washington D.C., as well as to Providence and Newark, will resume next month.

All remaining flights on legacy airlines such as Delta, American and United are to their major hubs across the nation.

Bobby Spann, the VP for external affairs, said airlines have been focused on connecting to hubs – Atlanta for Delta, Dallas for American – as the demand for air travel has decreased. As demand increases, Spann said, airlines will reopen their routes to cities for nonstop destinations.

“Airlines have indicated to CVG that any temporary suspension of service to nonstop destinations can eventually return when demand returns,” Spann said.

The temporary suspensions for May are as follows:

• American: New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Miami, Washington D.C.-Reagan
• Delta: Austin, Hartford, Boston, Baltimore, Paris, Charlotte, Cancun, Washington D.C.-Reagan, Denver, Dallas, Newark, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Orlando, Chicago-O’Hare, Philadelphia, Raleigh, Fort Myers, Seattle, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto
• United: Denver, Houston, Newark
• Southwest: Denver, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa
• Frontier: Atlanta, Austin, Cancun, Dallas, Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Punta Cana, Raleigh, San Diego
• Allegiant: Denver
• Air Canada: Toronto

William Rankin, an associate professor of Aviation Management at the Florida Institute of Technology and former airport manager of 29 years, said the formula airports use to calculate how they use their planes and where they plan routes is complex, and the COVID-19 pandemic has created unforeseen complications with their calculations.

Rankin said this disruption of traffic patterns varies from the disruptions seen during 9/11 because of the infectious nature of the new coronavirus.

FULL STORY HERE  (subscription-based)