"Traffic Up at Newport News, Va.-Area Airport"

Wednesday, June 18, 2003

Traffic Up at Newport News, Va.-Area Airport
The Newport News (VA) Daily Press


The number of passengers passing through Newport News/Williamsburg
International airport jumped 47.9 percent in the year that ended May 31. The
figure is up from the previous 12 months as new destinations and expanding
schedules helped the airport rebound from disappointing numbers after the
attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

"We had really bad numbers for the twelve months before that so it's
somewhat of an artificial increase," said Jim Evans business development
manager at the Newport News, Va., airport. "But they're good numbers
nonetheless."

>From June 2002 to May 2003 the airport handled 635,236 passengers, up from
429,748 passengers for the previous 12 months. 

Officials say much of the increase is because of the popularity of AirTran
and Delta flights that have expanded services to handle more travelers.
Delta, which began offering a fourth flight to Atlanta this week, has also
switched to larger jets with 20 additional seats on some flights to its
biggest hub.

AirTran began offering two daily flights to New York's LaGuardia
International Airport and one flight to Orlando in March 2002. The
Orlando-based airline will add a third flight to New York next month.

US Airways numbers were down slightly after it scaled back service during
the buildup to war in Iraq and while it sorted out its financial problems in
federal bankruptcy court.


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