The Chattanooga Airport Board approved what they deemed a “conservative” 2021 budget, one which shows the devastating effects COVID-19 had had on the airport and industry in general.
Also, it was announced that United Airlines is suspending its service from Chattanooga to Chicago effective July 3.
Airport President Terry Hart said, "We are optimistic that service to Chicago will resume as the air travel industry continues to rebound.
We are already experiencing a positive resurgence of travel and expect that to continue into summer and fall."
Of the budget, Mr. Hart said, “Revenue is budgeted at 13.1 million, which is 38 percent below the fiscal year 2020 forecast. This overall decrease in revenues is a direct impact of COVID-19 has had on airport operations.”
He said he believed that because of the lost revenue, some airports are looking at raising rates. However, President Hart believes that the Chattanooga Airport does not have any need to increase fees or rates in 2021. Among these fees is the parking rate, which will remain the same next year.
“On our budget, I would say we prepared what I would call a very conservative budget,” said the president. “One that really focuses on not thinking we’re going to be taking in a lot of revenue to offset expenses from last year.”
“As you can see from the airline perspective, we built a schedule based upon a slow build-up of flights. That has in impact on other things such as parking, rent-a-car, the terminal. A lot of those things take place as a result of the air-carrier operations.”
General operating expenses for the year is set at $11.5 million. He said this is a 21 percent decrease over what the airport believes they will finish by the end of June of this year.
“We decreased this primarily because of cost-cutting measures put in place that were necessary to offset reduced operations,” said president Hart.
As he was going through the budget, an unfamiliar voice began to make sexually explicit remarks about Mr. Hart and the board. It was quickly determined that the Zoom call had been hacked, and every member of the board disconnected from the call.
About half an hour later, the board established a conference call and the board discussed the rest of the budget. Mr. Hart said because there will still be a positive balance after the budget, he said the airport can feel like it is in a “good place.”
Mr. Hart also said he believes the effects of COVID-19 over the last three months will continue to be felt for months, if not years.