Sunport Sees Uptick in Traffic as Pandemic Eases

Apr. 28—It's still easier to find a COVID-19 test at the Albuquerque International Sunport than it is a direct flight to San Diego or Kansas City, but officials say New Mexico's largest airport has started making bigger strides toward normalcy.

The Sunport had an average of 7,389 passengers moving through each day over the last month. That remains about 49% below the same period in 2019 but is a marked improvement over its pandemic depths when traffic plunged by more than 90%.

Last April, for example, the city averaged just 654 passengers per day.

"It feels great ... to walk through the terminal and feel the sense of bustling we missed over the past year," Albuquerque Aviation Director Nyika Allen said Tuesday morning during a media briefing with Mayor Tim Keller.

Airlines are also resuming some Sunport service they cut during the pandemic. American Airlines' flight to Los Angeles returns in June; Allegiant Air, which had intermittently served the Albuquerque market during the pandemic, will start flying to Austin and Las Vegas, Nevada, again next month. Allegiant has flights scheduled through July with frequency increasing during that span. While that remains subject to change, a Sunport spokeswoman called it another encouraging sign.

The Sunport presently has direct flights to 20 different airports, down from 25 prior to the pandemic. Allegiant's Austin service will add one more, but there still are no nonstop options to Kansas City, Orlando, San Diego and San Jose.

Spokeswoman Stephanie Kitts said the airlines base their decisions on demand, and that only customer appetite will bring lost flights back and drive any future expansions. While that was the case before the pandemic, Kitts said airlines' pandemic-related staffing cuts have made them even more discerning when adding flights.

Both Allen and Keller on Tuesday urged Albuquerque residents to help the cause, encouraging them to look for and choose nonstop flights whenever possible to demonstrate community interest.

"Some of this is kind of on us," Keller said. "Pick direct flights out of here on any airlines, and we'll get more. It's a sort of self-reinforcing cycle."

The Sunport is also working to stoke demand on the opposite end, contributing $500,000 to a $1.5 million tourism campaign that will promote Albuquerque to travelers in other states.

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