Regional airports seek 21st-Century relevance

The United States' commercial aviation arena integrates two distinctive types of players. In larger markets, travelers navigate expansive airports served by multiple top-tier air carriers. These airports typically serve as connection hubs, handling flights from other United States cities along with international travel destinations. Metro area airports also attract business aviation and cargo service providers. The metro airports' multi-source revenue environment directly contrasts with many geographically dispersed regional airports. Many of these smaller-scale facilities remain locked in a battle for economic survival.Regional Airports' Legacy Role For decades, smaller-scale regional airports have served as "feeder" airports, delivering local passengers to metro area airline hubs. Across the United States, 570 regional airports provide service to smaller cities and rural areas, according to leading turboprop aircraft manufacturer ATR. Every year, regional airports' service to their collective communities sparks $134 billion in economic benefits. The regional airports also create one million jobs that funnel $36 billion in wages into the surrounding economy. Equally importantly, regional airports provide lower-density areas' residents with life-enriching opportunities. They can access the better-paying jobs, more sophisticated healthcare, and higher-quality education typically found in large metropolitan markets. Air travel to these metro areas takes less time than lengthy trips over mountains or other challenging terrain. Leisure travelers often prefer to depart from a convenient regional airport rather than endure the longer drive to a metro area hub. Finally, a regional airport may cause less environmental impact than a rail system or highway network. Both systems could raise significant environmental damage concerns. The regional airport's smaller environmental footprint aligns with the aviation industry's sustainability focus. The Ongoing Regional Airport Usage DeclineUnfortunately, regional airport usage continues a two-decade downturn. From 2000 to 2019, major domestic hub-to-hub flights increased by almost 6%. During the same period, smaller airports' combined flight share dropped by more than 7%. Additionally, large-hub scheduled departures remained constant, while small community airports experienced a loss of more than 1.6 million flights during the period. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this regional airport decline, according to ATR. Multiple factors are contributing to the decline of regional airports. First, major airlines continue their strategic consolidation plans, moving most flight operations to major metro hubs. As a result, regional airports continue to see a decrease in revenue-producing flight traffic, according to ATR. On a related note, major airlines have historically utilized compact "commuter" jets to serve their regional airport partners. These smaller workhorse aircraft continue to age, with the most recent models approximately 15 years past their manufacturing dates. Some of these older aircraft possess only limited compatibility with the latest navigation systems. With fewer technologically compatible jets serving a smaller airport, flight revenues will decline accordingly. Even if the aircraft availability problem is resolved, the planes can't take off without pilots at the flight controls. A continued pilot shortage has been directly linked to the regional airline industry's downturn for the past decade. In fact, insufficient pilot numbers resulted in reduced or eliminated air service at dozens of regional airports from October 2019 to October 2022, according to the Regional Airline Association. The organization used Official Airline Guide flight schedule data to make the comparison. Faye Malarkey Black, the Regional Airline Association CEO, put the pilot shortage in perspective. "We now have more than 500 regional aircraft parked without pilots to fly them and an associated air service retraction at 324 communities. 14 airports have lost all scheduled commercial air service - a number that is still rising," she said. The Bottom Line Rules Sometimes, it's simply a matter of economics. For instance, the Williamsport (Pennsylvania) Regional Airport has been without commercial air carriers since 2021. Aviation industry analyst William Swelbar noted that airlines are pulling the plug on smaller, overly costly routes that drag down the carrier's bottom line. "The 50-seat jet today is just not economic as it was 10 years ago. Labor costs going up. Fuel costs going up. Maintenance costs going up. And it's hard for that airplane at that seat size to be profitable," Swelbar said in an NPR Morning Edition interview. Regional airports such as the Williamsport facility have long been serviced by those 50-seat jets. Swelbar said that more smaller cities in the same situation are likely to lose their air carrier service. "In the West, the distances are greater, the terrain is more difficult, people need to fly. Whereas you look in the East, there's lots of airports that are located in a certain geography. And the highway system is terrific. That's why there will be more Williamsport," William Swelbar said. Impacts of Diminished Air Service A reduction of community air service can make it more difficult to arrange leisure travel and business trips. Local patients who fly to larger markets for medical care will find it harder to keep their appointments. If a regional airport loses all air service, residents must make a longer, more expensive trip to reach a viable airport. In the worst-case scenario, reduced (or eliminated) community air service could lead to less regional business investment. In turn, that results in fewer available jobs, likely spurring some residents to relocate to a market with better economic prospects. Together, these variables make it less likely that the regional airport will be able to attract air service in the near future, according to Trip Savvy. Two Federal Initiatives Offer Limited Relief Recognizing the problem's magnitude, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) launched two federal initiatives to help small communities obtain (or retain) air service. A United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) study reported on the programs' effectiveness. The EAS Program The Essential Air Service (EAS) Program subsidizes airlines that serve eligible local communities. However, the program's approval criteria have rendered some communities ineligible for the EAS subsidy. Certain non-hub airports without EAS subsidies have found it difficult to obtain and retain air service. Some non-EAS subsidized airport representatives said they sought multiple funding sources to offer airline revenue guarantees that could attract new air carriers. The SCASDP Program The Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) issues grants to eligible communities that do not benefit from EAS-subsidized service. An approved community can use the grant funds to initiate new regional air service. Not surprisingly, the GAO study found that SCASDP grant demand consistently exceeds the program's available funds. The GAO previously learned that the SCASDP grants do not fully fund airlines' revenue guarantees that decrease the carriers' financial risk. Finally, the grants only provide revenue guarantee funding for a three-year maximum period. Airport representatives stressed the need for ongoing grant funding. The GAO Evaluation of the Programs' Effectiveness With knowledge of the EAS and SCASDP programs' shortfalls, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 recommended that the GAO study specific non-hub airports' challenges. The GAO's subsequent report detailed key air service metrics changes at non-hub airports. The GAO report also addressed SCASDP's effectiveness at helping non-hub airports without EAS subsidies to obtain (and retain) air service. Finally, the GAO report detailed the subject airports' challenges and how they have responded to them. The report covered the 2018 through 2024 period. To compile the report, GAO representatives analyzed key metric flight data, reviewed relevant documentation, and interviewed applicable DOT officials. The GAO also spoke with representatives of seven non-EAS non-hub airports, visiting four of these airports to better understand the facilities' challenges. New Life for Regional Airports Some resourceful regional airport managers have taken an "out of the box" approach to the problem. In effect, they have given little-used (or decommissioned) airport facilities a new lease on life. Aviation-related uses enable the facility to remain connected to its original purpose. For instance, New York City's old Floyd Bennett Airport (GFL) served metro area customers during the 20th century. Today, a naval air station occupies part of the Floyd Bennett Field acreage, while the original Hangar B plays host to a vintage aircraft exhibit.Functional regional airports with empty terminal space often reconfigure that square footage into office space. Multi-location companies lease these desirable units, providing traveling personnel with a "home base" from which to conduct their business. Airports with vacant hangar space are increasingly marketing to businesses with company-owned aircraft, according to Chron.com. Surprisingly, almost all companies with business-owned aircraft are smaller businesses, not Fortune 500 mega-corporations.Smaller markets with insufficient industrial and/or warehouse space have found an unlikely solution. Leasing an empty aircraft hangar enables the commercial tenant to customize the space to meet the business's needs. Companies seeking to establish a regional distribution center may find this an attractive option. Taken together, these new regional airport uses can help fuel area business growth. In turn, a once-declining facility can once again play a key role in the local economy.