Asheville airport climbs back to 1.4 million passengers in 2021, more than doubles 2020
Passenger numbers at Asheville Regional Airport rebounded from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 2021 pulling in more than double 2020.
In a news release Jan. 26, Asheville Regional reported a total 1.42 million passengers in 2021, a 103% increase from the 704,972 passengers of 2020. It marks the second-highest annual total for the airport.
“The first thing I want to do is thank our local travelers for choosing to fly from AVL as they headed back to the skies,” Lew Bleiweis, executive director, said in the release. “I want to thank our airline partners who have continued serving our region in significant ways, even during the major downturn in 2020.”
In 2021, 1.4 million marks 88% of the airport’s record year in 2019, when 1.61 million passengers boarded planes in Asheville, but more than doubled the severe decrease in passengers brought by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Parts of 2021, though, outpaced the record year, including May, June and July, monthly totals of which all outpaced 2019, with August coming just short.
The news comes as the airport continues planning the design of its 275,000-square-foot terminal building to replace the existing 113,000-square-foot terminal, which will have a total 12 gates and 12 loading bridges to replace the current seven gates and five loading ridges.
Returning to the sky: Asheville Airport travelers return in force; plans to double terminal size move forward
More flights: Asheville Regional Airport adding Boston flights, JetBlue service
In October, Bleiweis reported that latest estimates brought the cost to $230 million for the expansion, funded mostly by bonds set to go on sale early this year along with grants from the state and the Federal Aviation Administration and the airport’s own operating revenue.
At the time, officials reported plans to break ground on the project in summer 2022 with a 2025 completion date.
“While we have been managing our air service changes and our recovery, we’ve also continued our longer-term work to be ready for continued growth,” said Bleiweis in the release. “The team at AVL is committed to planning well for growth so our customers and business partners continue to have positive experiences.”
A new aircraft apron area south of the terminal for parking of three additional planes is currently nearing completion, the airport says.
Last year was also one of new route announcements, the airport says, with six new routes from four different airlines bringing the airport’s total to 25 nonstop destinations by the end of the year.
Two new airlines also signed on at Asheville Regional in 2021: Sun Country, who began service to Minneapolis/St. Paul in November 2021, and JetBlue, who will begin flying nonstop to Boston from Asheville in June 2022.
“The airlines are truly vested in our region, and we are continually grateful for the incredible air service we have and the airlines who provide it,” Bleiweis said in the announcement.
New nonstop destinations added at Asheville Regional in 2021 include Boston; Destin, Florida; Key West, Florida; Las Vegas; Minneapolis/St. Paul; and Washington, D.C.
JetBlue joined five airlines which serve AVL in 2021: Allegiant, American, Delta, Sun Country and United, for an airport that contributes nearly $1.5 billion in local economic impact annually, according to the release.
A 10-20-year master plan is in the works, too, for the airport that continues to be one of the fastest growing airports in the country, it says.
Derek Lacey covers environment, growth and development for the Asheville Citizen Times. Reach him at DLacey@gannett.com or 828-417-4842 and find him on Twitter @DerekAVL.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville Regional Airport: Passenger numbers double in 2021 vs. 2020
