CIRA passenger numbers down 58% last month

Posted on December 17, 2020
The airport is requiring face masks and people are asked to social distance as much as possible, according to CIRA Deputy Director of Marketing Fran Strebing. (Facebook/Central Illinois Regional Airport)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – The ongoing pandemic has heavily impacted the travel industry and that includes Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington.

“We were down about 58% in passenger numbers,” CIRA Deputy Director of Marketing Fran Strebing told WJBC’s Scott Miller. “We had a total of about 13,000 people come in and out of the terminal building and off and on commercial flights. Last year we had 32,000 do that.”

Those are numbers from last month compared to November 2019.

Even with a drop in travelers this holiday season due to the virus, Strebing said there are some choosing to fly.

“What we need to do locally, and what we are doing, is provide a safe environment for those that choose to travel right now,” she said.

The Twin-Cities airport is requiring face masks, markers and signs ask people to social distance, and plexiglass is installed in different areas.

Strebing added that CIRA has been able to keep all four of its airlines as some neighboring airports have lost services.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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