As more of the country begins to open, there has been an increase in passenger traffic. The TSA reports that during the first week of May, passengers averaged 178 per day at ICT compared to last week’s average of 477. On May 22, the Friday before Memorial weekend, passengers peaked at 668. The airlines are responding to this demand and are adding more capacity to their schedules.
In June, Allegiant will begin its seasonal service to Los Angeles. With Florida now open, Allegiant is operating its seasonal service to Destin-Ft. Walton Beach and Orlando-Sanford, in addition to Las Vegas and Phoenix.
In July, Delta will resume its Minneapolis nonstop service with one daily flight. The route was suspended in May.
Southwest will resume its Las Vegas nonstop August 11 and its Phoenix nonstop June 28. It will begin nonstop to Denver on Dec. 17.
Frontier will operate two weekly flights to Denver starting in July.
United will increase flights to Chicago, Denver and Houston in July.
American will increase flights to Chicago and Dallas in July.
There are no changes for Alaska Airlines as they have maintained one daily flight to Seattle.
The airlines are obligated to maintain a minimum level of service through Sept. 30 in order to take advantage of the funding from the CARES ACT. If passenger traffic does not improve by then, there could be reductions in flights and destinations.
The airport and airlines have increased cleaning and disinfecting procedures. There are more hand sanitizers throughout the terminal, plexiglass shields are installed at high traffic areas, and face coverings/masks are required in the terminal and onboard aircraft. The airlines have thorough disinfecting procedures, fogging of aircraft, and the HEPA filters used in aircraft remove up to 99.7% of airborne particles. It is now cleaner, healthier, and safer to fly.
