"Delta cutbacks continue taking toll at Memphis airport"

Friday, January 20, 2012

Delta cutbacks continue taking toll at Memphis airport 
By Andy Ashby
The Memphis (TN) Business Journal


The Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority board saw mixed results in
Memphis International Airport operations in December as passenger counts
dropped, but cargo remained stable.
 
Memphis International Airport saw a decrease in flights and passengers in
December, mainly as a result of flight cutbacks by Delta Air Lines Inc.  ..
 
The airport saw 196 scheduled daily flights in December, down 20.9 percent
compared to 248 flights in December 2010.
 
Of those, Delta accounted for 83 percent: 163 scheduled daily flights in
December, down 23.4 percent compared to 213 flights in December 2010.
 
Memphis International had 628,888 total enplanements in December, down 19.9
percent compared to 785,854 in December 2010.
 
If the numbers follow the seasonal trends of last year, then flights and
passenger counts should remain flat or decrease slightly through 2012.
 
Partially a result of decreased passenger counts, the airport saw terminal
revenue from concessions and gifts drop 20.6 percent, from $2.9 million in
December 2010 to $2.3 million last month.
 
While the passenger side of Memphis International Airport is going through
some challenging times, the cargo side remained steady.
 
The airport handled 8.6 million pounds of cargo in both December 2011 and
December 2010.
 
In other news, the airport's new ground transportation center is 63 percent
complete and should be finished in late summer.
 
Also, authority chairman Arnold Perl and his wife, Mary Lynn, were
recognized last week by having a section of Plough Boulevard between the
airport and Interstate 240 renamed after them.

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