The Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport saw an increase in August traffic of 3% over July. August saw 21,704 passengers fly via ROA compared to 21,029 in July, an increase of 675 passengers. The airport’s gain of 675 passengers from July to August equates to 21 more passengers flying each day.
The airport saw a decrease in August traffic of 64% on a year over year basis, however nationally traffic was off 70%. August saw 21,704 passengers fly via ROA compared to 61,093 in August 2019, a decrease of 39,389 passengers. Year to date passenger traffic as of August was down 57% versus 2019 with 195,872 passengers served this year compared to 465,331 in 2019. Despite traffic being down year over year, it has increased every month since bottoming out in April.
“We are pleased to see passenger traffic rebounding this summer,” stated Timothy T. Bradshaw, A.A.E., executive director of the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission. “Passengers are more and more comfortable in the measures taken by the air carriers and airports to ensure their safety. We hope this upward trend continues into the fall. Lower overall airfare has stimulated demand and as airlines rebuild their schedules, it is critical to use our current service to not only keep it but also have more restored and help our economy grow. We continue to appreciate the support of our community choosing ROA and not driving out of market to fly.”
The Commission works with the airlines to maintain air service the airport has to serve the region. We are open and operational if the public needs to fly and have implemented enhanced cleaning protocols, as have our airlines, to make air travel as safe as possible. The commission sincerely thanks our customers for choosing to fly ROA.
