D/FW Traffic Lags Industry Averages

Passenger traffic at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport lagged behind industry averages for the fifth straight month in April, officials reported.

In the wake of Delta Air Lines' drastic reduction of service, D/FW Airport served 4,669,802 passengers in April, a 4 percent decrease from April 2004, Joe Lopano, D/FW executive vice president of marketing and revenue management, reported to the airport board Thursday.

Preliminary May figures also look like they will be below last year, Lopano said.

But because of a variety of factors, including the delayed opening of the Skylink people mover, revenues at D/FW are exceeding expenses this fiscal year, allowing airport officials to put more money in pension-plan funds and proceed with renovations of Terminal E.

In other news, the board recognized former member and Dallas architect Pedro Aguirre, who served on the board for eight years. Aguirre was credited with helping to keep costs low during the airport's recent $2.8 billion expansion.

Aguirre, whose term ended in January, called the airport "the glue that keeps Dallas and Fort Worth together."