Business As Usual At PIA, At Least For Now

Flights out of the Peoria International Airport will continue as scheduled, despite travel concerns amid the spread of COVID-19.

"We've been getting information from our air traffic consultant that shows what the schedule has in it weekly,” said airport director Gene Olson. “We've seen no reduction in frequencies yet, so all the flights that were scheduled are still scheduled."

Olson said that could change soon. He said he "would not be surprised" if airlines with frequent flights to destinations like Chicago cut back on the number of trips.

Airport traffic remained relatively strong up until last weekend, Olson said. Now, there are hundreds of empty spots in the parking lot.

"We've been hearing anecdotal stories about some of the departing aircrafts going out with very small loads,” he said. “We like to see an airplane at least 80 percent full and that way you know it's well. We've been maybe around half that."

Olson said the airport does not make a lot of money directly from passengers, but they will lose money on things like car rentals and meals at airport restaurants.

He said they could also lose out on some revenue from airlines.

“A lot of our fees are fixed. If you want to fly into Peoria as an airline, you have to rent some office space, you have to rent some bag room space and things like that,” he said. “But then there are other fees that are variable based on activity. We charge a landing fee, for example, and so if you have fewer aircrafts landing, then you’re going to collect fewer landing fees.”

Olson said the airport is preparing for a 15% drop in revenue from variable fees, based on what they’ve seen during other periods of recession. He said the airport could make up that loss by deferring or scaling back capital projects.

For now, Olson said, it’s business as usual.

“We would just encourage passengers to practice social distancing and make sure they’re practicing good hygiene,” he said. “Rest assured that the airport and the airplanes are both clean. But still be careful.”

People like you value experienced, knowledgeable and award-winning journalism that covers meaningful stories in the Peoria area. To support more stories and interviews like this one, please consider making a contribution.

Copyright 2021 WCBU. To see more, visit WCBU.