QC airport posts best January passenger numbers since 2020

Despite local operational challenges and systemwide cancellations caused by back-to-back snowstorms in January, the Quad Cities International Airport saw a 7% year-over-year increase in passengers for the month.  The QCIA announced in a news release Wednesday, Feb. 21, that the airport in Moline (MLI) had 23,495 enplanements (outbound passengers) in January, which compared to 22,050 […]

Despite local operational challenges and systemwide cancellations caused by back-to-back snowstorms in January, the Quad Cities International Airport saw a 7% year-over-year increase in passengers for the month.  The QCIA announced in a news release Wednesday, Feb. 21, that the airport in Moline (MLI) had 23,495 enplanements (outbound passengers) in January, which compared to 22,050 enplanements in January 2023. 

Total monthly passengers (inbound and outbound) was up about 5% to 45,309 in January. That compared to 43,092 in January 2023.  The last time its January enplanements were higher was in 2020 when the airport reported 27,695 enplanements and 54,033 total passengers.   According to airport officials, American Airlines posted the largest monthly increase in passengers – inbound and outbound – among the QCIA’s four commercial carriers. American increased its market share by 12 points thanks to its new daily service to Charlotte, North Carolina, which began Dec. 20. In January, American had 37% of the airport’s passengers. That compared to 25% the same month last year. 

Holiday traffic strong

With nonstop and connecting destinations, the Quad Cities airport served over half a million passengers in 2023 – ending the year with strong holiday traffic. It is served by four major airlines including Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.  “An overwhelming number of regional airports still have fewer flights today than prior to the pandemic, including MLI, but January’s activity shows that as airlines add capacity back to our market, we can fill planes,” Ashleigh Davis, the QCIA’s public relations and marketing manager, said in the release.  She added: “Demand in the Quad Cities is strong, particularly for American Airlines’ new daily service to Charlotte. We hope this will give airlines confidence to continue investing in our market.” The January passenger increase came as the airport dealt with a historic snowstorm that canceled about a dozen flights locally. “But at 50-76 seats a flight, that’s a lot for a small airport,” Ms. Davis told the QCBJ in an email.  In addition, the storms also caused havoc for snow removal crews who worked in rotating 12-hour shifts to keep the runways and taxiways as clear as possible, she added. “There is very little an airport can do to pretreat surfaces before a storm, so they have to act quickly as soon as the snow starts flying.”

Passengers dug out

In addition, Ms. Davis said airport’s public safety officers and other employees were busy during the storm shuttling passengers to the parking lot and helping them dig out their cars.  The strong January passenger numbers come as the entire airline industry continues working to rebound from the impacts of COVID-19 on travel including declines in air service.  Although the QCIA was experiencing passenger growth prior to the pandemic, the airport said the extended global decline in travel caused the biggest disruption to commercial aviation in its history. As a result, the looming pilot shortage was exacerbated by early retirements and resignations, some regional carriers folded, new strategies were deployed, and new carriers emerged.  For example, Delta, which once had the largest market share in the Quad Cities, retired all 50-seat aircraft in its fleet and took a unique approach to recovery compared to other legacy carriers. Ms. Davis told the QCBJ that Delta was the first airline to retire the small aircraft. “It’s something that’s likely on the horizon for the legacy carriers, but they haven’t pulled them all the way Delta did.”  But in a positive sign for air service in the Quad Cities, Allegiant Air extended Quad Cities service to Phoenix/Mesa throughout the summer. For the past several years, the flight was a seasonal offering, pausing service between May-October. “In addition to working with our current airline partners to advocate for increased frequency and service, we believe there is opportunity for new airline partners to enter our market as well,” Ms. Davis said in the release. “Airlines decide when and where to add service but we are continually evolving our approach to advocacy and data collection so we can tell the best possible story about our region and travel needs.”