Chattanooga Airport President Terry Hart said Monday that while the airport is still functioning, its productivity has cratered, which is shown through a variety of metrics.
“In April 2020, emplanements, and it looks like everyone is sitting down, are at 2,589 for the entire month,” said President Hart. “Compared to last April of 2019 of 41,417, it was a nearly 95 percent reduction in emplanements.”
When it came to seat capacity, he told the Airport Board that the planes have been down around 58 percent compared to the same time last year.
He said that May has been an even harsher month, down 73 percent on available seats. However, the president does see reason for some optimism, even if June showed another 75 percent reduction in seat capacity.
“This week’s bookings are higher than last week’s bookings, which were higher than the previous week’s,” said the president. “So we’re seeing a small uptick on emplaned customers here.”
However, President Hart told the board that while progress may be occurring, the airport will still feel the effects of the pandemic for the foreseeable future.
“I think it’s going to be a very slow rebound, and I don’t think this is months,” said President Hart. “I think it’s unfortunately going to take years. I’d like to say a year, but I think we’re going to feel the impact of this for quite some time.”
The airport responded to the drastic decrease in revenue by furloughing a large portion of their employees. However, even by doing this, the airport’s expenses still exceeded their revenues (which have seen a 70 percent reduction according to the president).
Because of this, the president said he took a 10 percent pay cut, and other employees took a five percent cut. In addition to this, the position of Vice President of Operations was completely eliminated. Because of this, the airport was able to balance its books.
He also mentioned how several major airlines are currently downsizing by retiring many of their larger planes. He also named a few smaller companies that shut their doors during the pandemic, companies that mostly worked in conjunction with larger airline companies.
The Chattanooga Airport also qualified for the CARES Act, which gives the facility $5.5 million from the federal government.
Because the airport has been less busy than it normally would, the airport has been able to finish several construction projects. The main building now has a new roof, and the east ramp has been finished.
The much-anticipated parking garage has almost finished the design stage. President Hart said that once this happens, it will take two months for a construction crew to create a temporary lot. After this lot is finished, the 12-month construction plan for the new parking garage can begin.