Passenger Service Surges at Youngstown-Warren Airport
WARREN, Ohio -- June was a banner month at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport as 12,456 passengers passed though the terminal, Dan Dickten reported Thursday. This is the largest passenger count since June 1992, he said, when 12,357 passengers flew into and out of the airport.
Dickten is the director of aviation for the Western Reserve Port Authority.
Over the last seven years, the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport has gone from being an airport with no scheduled commercial airline service to one projected to transport some 85,000 passengers this year, Dickten says. He attributes the steadily rising passenger count not only to the “overwhelming support by the community” to use the airport, but also to the fact that people from Akron, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh are making the short drive to take advantage of Allegiant Air’s flight schedule and fares. Passengers flew Allegiant Air to Orlando and Tampa, Fla., and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Further, he pointed to the increase in casino charter traffic, now operated by Republic Airlines, with “junkets,” as he calls them, flying nonstop to Atlantic City, N.J., and Tunica and Gulfport, Miss.
“We are confident there will be daily air service operating at the airport in the very near future,” Dickten said in a prepared statement. “We are getting closer to daily connecting service coming to fruition at [the airport] to service the communities as we have more meaningful dialogue with network airlines for destinations such as Chicago-O’Hare, Washington-Dulles, Detroit Metro-Wayne County, and/or Dallas-Fort Worth. The airport expects additional leisure destinations and increased frequency from Allegiant.”
As the volume of passenger traffic has increased, the airport has been upgrading the terminal to provide passengers with a pleasant and convenient flying experience, Dickten noted. In November 2011, the Western Reserve Port Authority approved a bond sale that both Trumbull and Mahoning commissioners supported. The sale raised approximately $3.7 million for improvements in and around the terminal to support this anticipated service.
All such projects are complete or in progress. Some of the improvements completed and paid for by the proceeds of the bonds are:
- Improvements to the curb, sidewalk, and façade of the terminal.
- Replacement and upgrade of the older passenger boarding bridge at Gate 1.
- Installation of a second passenger boarding bridge at Gate 5 that can service turboprop aircraft up to Boeing 767 jets.
- Addition of 140 seats in the unsecured and secured sides of the terminal.
- Replacement and expansion of the baggage return system in the terminal.
- Terminal boiler and air-conditioning unit replacements.
- Repaving and striping the airport terminal parking concession stand.
- The addition of a food court in the secured passenger holding area.
- Additional flight information display screens.
- Rental car expansion (return lot, quick turn-around, service building).
- A second rental car counter and rental car agency in the terminal.
- Updated signage inside and around the terminal.
- Paving of the main entrance road and supporting drives around the terminal.
- Art displays from local artists throughout the terminal and hold room.
The airport provides free Wi-Fi for passengers. Recent modernization entails expanding the signal strength and coverage areas to reach the entire terminal and baggage claim areas
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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