Airport on good start for 300,000 passengers

January 14th, 2008 at 03:57pm Thomas V. Bona

With word Friday that flights from Rockford to Ireland will start in June, Chicago Rockford International Airport took another step toward not only toward a record near in passenger service, but toward officials’ stated goal of 300,000 passengers.

The airport saw 215,009 passengers in 2007, second only to 1991’s record of 221,006.

Already there’s room for growth, even if nothing else is added. Besides 40 flights between Rockford and Ireland this summer, there will be full years of service to Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Assuming those planes are all on average 85 percent full (about the airport’s average for 2007), those three routes would add 48,166 passengers to the total this year. That brings RFD to 263,175. Again, that’s if nothing is added.

Airport officials hope to add other routes this year: targets include Myrtle Beach, SC; Fort Myers, Fla.; and east and west coast destinations. The airport also hopes that successful Ireland flights could lead to another European destination.

On top of that, the airport is lobbying United Airlines, Allegiant Air and Apple Vacations to add flights on existing routes, further raising the numbers.

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