Columbus Airport Data Release : Airlines Passenger Traffic Rise in July

Passenger traffic at Columbus Airport inched up in July compared with a year ago, possibly reflecting higher fares that could have dampened leisure travel this year.

The airport served 587,461 travelers last month, compared with 584,125 in July 2009, according to data released yesterday by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority.

Delta Air Lines, Midwest Airlines (which is changing its name to Frontier), Air Canada and Southwest Airlines all reported year-over-year passenger gains, while the rest of the airlines serving Port Columbus reported decreases of between 1percent and 10percent.

Though airlines have added new flights from Port Columbus this summer, Delta is cutting back. After resuming daily nonstop service to Los Angeles International, the airline has cut back to three times each week.

Daily service is expected to resume in June, said David Whitaker, vice president of business development for the airport. He said Delta officials said passenger totals were good, and they were happy with the flight, but the cut was a matter of “equipment and crew” availability.

Delta also has reduced nonstop service from Richmond, Va., to Los Angeles, and dropped it altogether from Hartford, Conn.

Cargo shipments at Rickenbacker Airport, meanwhile, soared 27 percent. That was attributed to an increase in shipments by FedEx and a surge in flights from Asia, mainly serving Columbus-based apparel firms such as Limited Brands and Abercrombie & Fitch.

Total cargo shipments for July for Rickenbacker and Port Columbus were up 23percent year-over-year, though a weak start to the year means cargo shipments through July are up just under 2percent.