Cape airport boardings on track to break 10,000-passenger threshold

Boardings at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport are on track to break the 10,000-passenger threshold this year for the first time in more than two decades.

The achievement would boost federal funding for the airport, which has been a major goal of city officials for years.

More than 4,900 passengers have boarded United Express jets to Chicago through the first five and a half months of this year, airport manager Bruce Loy said Friday.

According to city projections, at least 1,000 passengers a month are expected to take the commercial flights out of Cape Girardeau through the remainder of this year.

In May, 1,125 passengers flew out of the Cape Girardeau airport. Boardings totaled 620 through the first half of this month, Loy said.

“So far, every month we have beat our projections,” he said.

Even if monthly boardings for the remainder of the year average slightly less than 1,000, Loy predicted total boardings for the year would reach more than 10,000.

Mayor Bob Fox said, “It looks really good right now.”

Boardings have climbed steadily since January when Utah-based SkyWest Airlines, operating as United Express, added seven additional round-trip flights to Chicago.

The expanded schedule provides Cape Girardeau with three round-trip flights to Chicago from Monday through Friday, and two round-trip flights on both Saturday and Sunday. It includes stops at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Kentucky.

Fox said the additional daily round-trip flight has made “a big difference” in drawing more passengers.

Marketing efforts on the part of the city and the airline also have played a part in the increased number of passengers, he said. The city, among other things, has worked to draw passengers from surrounding cities such as Sikeston, Missouri, according to Loy.

Reaching the 10,000 boardings threshold will pay dividends financially for the Cape Girardeau airport.

The airport now receives a $150,000 federal grant annually. But by meeting the threshold, the city would garner another $850,000 in federal funding for airport projects, Loy said.

The city would be guaranteed $1 million in federal funding for eligible airport projects for every year it meets that 10,000 boardings threshold, Loy said.

He added he expects the airport to meet the boardings threshold in the coming years, too.

United Express began offering round-trip flights on 50-seat jets to Chicago on Dec. 1, 2017.

The commuter airline replaced Cape Air, which previously provided round trips to St. Louis on much smaller planes.

Commuter flights serving Cape Girardeau and other small airports are federally subsidized under the Essential Air Service program.

Cape Girardeau city officials had expressed hope United Express, with its connection to Chicago O’Hare airport, would boost boardings. That scenario is playing out.

It has been more than two decades since the airport last reached the 10,000 boardings plateau, according to Southeast Missourian archives.

In 1998, boardings totaled 11,745. But that number included boardings of Procter & Gamble charter flights. The company no longer operates such charters.

A capital improvements tax measure on the August ballot would fund several city projects, including $4 million for a new terminal, according to city officials.

The anticipated increase in federal dollars would boost funding for a “more modern terminal,” Loy said.

Do you like stories about government and courts? Keep up with the latest news by signing up for our daily morning headline email. Go to www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.

---

Boardings at a glance

Cape Girardeau Regional Airport boardings in 2019

January: 643

February: 711

March: 909

April: 954

May: 1,125