Climbing Vaccine Numbers Fuel Cautious Optimism for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Coronavirus Rebound

Mar. 24—CLEVELAND, Ohio — The rapid distribution of vaccinations against the coronavirus has fostered a sense of cautious optimism at airports and for the airline industry, Cleveland airport chief Robert Kennedy told a City Council panel Wednesday.

The number of people passing through Cleveland Hopkins International Airport has been trending upward, although still only about half of what the airport saw before the pandemic, Kennedy said in a report to the City Council's Transportation Committee.

"We're seeing some light. We're seeing some recovery," Kennedy said. "Forty-four out of the last 51 days, they have been the best days we've had in a year. ... We're excited about the numbers coming back. We're excited about what the summer may hold for us."

This past weekend was the busiest in more than a year at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Kennedy expects it will get busier as spring break traffic picks up.

And he attributes much of the uptick in traffic to the push by the federal and state governments to get people vaccinated against COVID-19.

As of Tuesday, about 85.5 million Americans — about 25% of the population — have received their first dose of vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 46.4 million have received their second dose.

In Ohio, updated numbers Wednesday showed more than 2.9 million Ohioans have started their vaccinations.

Cleveland's airport recovery is ahead of the national average. Hopkins is back to about 49% of its 2019 levels, as compared to 44% industrywide.

Kennedy, and airline industry experts, have said previously that full recovery from the pandemic could take two or three more years.

About 18,000 to 20,000 people pass through Hopkins' terminal daily — far better than in the depths of the pandemic when as few as 1,000 people came each day, but still only about half of the 2019 levels.

And employment at the airport is down by about 3,200 jobs. The airport itself avoided layoffs in 2020, but airlines and other private vendors cut their staff — baggage handlers, fuel and mechanical staff and concession workers — as traffic waned.

The jobs were held by people who live in Greater Cleveland, and Kennedy said he hopes they will return.

"I've taken that on as a mission because I think of those people who may not be able to house their families or feed them," he said.

Over the last several years the airport has worked to become a more attractive place for air carriers to do business, pushing up non-aviation revenues to help reduce the carriers' share of the airport operations costs.

"We have to and want to work very hard with our carriers to make us competitive and to make us the place where they put their finite resources," Kennedy said. Those resource decisions include where to deploy their aircraft and crew and base flights.

As traffic picks up, Kennedy is looking for Hopkins to remain in a strong position to lead regional competitors like Columbus, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

"As we get toward the end of the year, Cleveland will continue to be that fierce competitor that will get additional air service," he said.

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