Sandy Hausman reports
Roanoke Blacksburg Regional Airport expects to grow now that Americans are traveling again. Charlottesville and Richmond also expect passenger numbers and flights to increase.
Credit Roanoke Blacksburg Regional Airport
While the number of passengers using Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport fell to 3% of what it had seen in 2019, travelers are coming back according to marketing Director Brad Boettcher. For the first couple of weeks of April which coincided with spring break in this region I was carrying over 70% of 2019 hisotrical traffic, he recalls, and 2019 was the busiest year we had in the 2000s.
Business travel remained light, but many passengers had been vaccinated and were anxious to take a vacation, visit friends or family. Boettcher says some were lured by lower fares normally reserved for bigger airports.
The pandemic hit some sectors of the economy much harder than others. Restaurants and bars, for example, were shut down in many places, but all over the
Roanoke s airport seeing a traffic rebound from COVID-19 wsls.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wsls.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Roanoke airport travel slowly increasing, but pandemic recovery could take years
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A plane takes off from the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport. (WSLS)
ROANOKE, Va. – The parking lot was packed and suitcases stuffed as holiday travelers file in and out of the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport on Tuesday morning.
Jeff Richards was flying back home to Montana after a two-week visit to Christiansburg. He’s not worried about traveling during the pandemic.
“Everybody in my family has already had COVID-19 and we’re all through it. So this doesn’t bother me a bit,” said Richards.
Roanoke airport opens new rental car center roanoke.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from roanoke.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.