Another record: Asheville Regional Airport's busiest year yet was 2022, new report says

ASHEVILLE - The Asheville Regional Airport has eclipsed its pre-pandemic passenger numbers, setting a record in the process.

According to the airport’s 2022 annual report, the airport served more than 1.8 million passengers in 2022, that’s almost a quarter million more passengers than in 2019. This was the busiest year in the airport’s history and a 29% increase from 2021.

According to the report, Asheville’s airport trailed only Charlotte Douglas International and Raleigh Durham International in passengers served, making it the third busiest airport in the state.

“Asheville and western NC is a place that people want to visit and is also a place filled with people who love to travel by air – who continue to choose their local airport,” Alexandra Ingle, brand and experience designer at Asheville Regional Airport, said in a July 14 statement to the Citizen Times.

The airport is on track for another record-breaking year. So far, the airport is serving 25% more travelers this year on a month-over-month basis, according to Ingle.

Asheville’s growing popularity as a tourist destination made it prime for commercial airlines to create new routes and extend their current service. In 2022, American Airlines added direct flights to Miami and Austin. Delta expanded the number of flights it schedules to Atlanta and New York LaGuardia. JetBlue also became the sixth airline to have flights from the airport.

Josh Franklin could feel the airport’s growing popularity. The Citizen Times spoke to him at the airport July 14.

Franklin flew into Asheville Regional on July 13 to pick up his daughter from sleepaway camp. “It was overflowing,” Franklin said about his impressions of the airport upon his arrival. He said he thought to himself “Gosh I’ll have to sift through this tomorrow.”

It was a one-night trip for Franklin. He stayed in a hotel an airport shuttle ride away. It was his first trip to Asheville, but he didn’t venture into the city. Franklin ordered delivery to his hotel room.

He was waiting for the summer camp to drop off his daughter so they could fly back to their home in Orlando. The airport wasn’t as busy as the day he arrived. It certainly was nothing like Disney World, but Franklin was nervous for another reason. At the time of the conversation, his daughter was seven minutes late.

Franklin’s concerns about crowds will soon be addressed. The airport’s annual report referenced that its terminal expansion plan began “preliminary work” in 2022. It is a four-year-long project expected to more than double the size of the current terminal. Ingle called it “the most significant project in our airport’s history” and added that it will break ground next month.

According to the report, the airport’s terminal expansion project will launch in 2023 if it receives “successful financing.” The Asheville airport received a $10 million grant from the federal Airport Improvement Program and $15 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021. And in April 2022, Buncombe County approved a bond of up to $275 million to help fund the improvements. Ingle also said that the expansion project will use state grants.

The Citizen Times also reported that construction on the airport’s $55 million air traffic control tower began this year.

Parking, however, is a different story.

Sharon and Don Mills usually arrive at the airport two hours early. But on July 14, the loyal Delta customers from Weaverville budgeted an extra hour. The reason? They were flying Allegiant Airlines for the first time, and they didn’t want to take any chances.

The Millses were taking advantage of Allegiant’s direct flight to Phoenix. The Citizen Times spoke to them July 14 after they waited in a long line to check in, only to learn that Allegiant won’t check in customers until two hours before takeoff.

It’s a good thing they arrived as early as they did. When they drove up to the airport, they couldn’t find a parking space. Sharon Mills estimated that they spent an hour driving around the parking lot looking for a space. Don conceded it was actually 45 minutes.

“We love the airport,” Sharon said.

“Asheville is growing too fast, but we love the airport anyway,” Don said.

“They just need to do something about parking,” Sharon responded.

The airport has been working to add more spots to its crowded parking lots. According to the report, the airport opened a new lot across the street from the airport for people to wait for arriving passengers. Ingle noted that the airport added three temporary lots this year. According to the report, the airport plans to add another parking lot south of the gas station on N.C. 280; Ingle says that will have more than 600 spaces and will open in the fall.

Ingle said the airport has “ample parking for most of the year” but admitted its “parking options are tough during peak travel times.” She suggested arriving at the airport at least two hours before boarding time.

Ingle called the overflow parking “temporary measures” and noted that it “takes significant time (often years) to go through the environmental, engineering, design, planning, bidding, and building steps required to add more permanent parking at the airport.”

Irrespective of the parking situation at the airport, the Millses will continue to arrive for their flight long before departure.

“When you do something at 72 years old, you need to get there early,” Don said.

Mitchell Black covers Buncombe County and health care for the Citizen Times. Email him at mblack@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @MitchABlack. Please help support local journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville Regional Airport's busiest year yet was 2022: new report