Tom Stoudt, Executive Director at Lehigh Valley International Airport, updated Northampton County Council on its operations last week. It is the fourth largest airport in Pennsylvania, serving as a host for four commercial airlines (Allegiant, American, Delta and United). It also has two general aviation facilities at Queen City (Allentown) and Braden (Forks Tp).
Traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels. Annual passengers dropped to 390,000 in 2020, but soared to 912,000 in 2022, which is actually slightly higher than it was in 2019. The airport also moved nearly 238 million pounds or air cargo last year, the most it's ever transported.
Although LVIA may host four airlines, two of them begin your flight by bussing you to a larger airport. American provides two trips daily to Philly, while United provides three daily pilgrimages to Newark. "They're more of a motor coach than a typical bus," said Stoudt.
The airport is actively searching for new flight destinations, and Stoudt reported that San Juan, PR was very high on a wish list sent to passengers. Airfares are high because of demand and limited resources. Stoudt doubts there will be many major announcements this year.
The airport operates on a $41 million budget. Interestingly, 17% of its total revenue comes from parking. It also is spending about $4 million in federal pandemic relief funds. Before that relief funding came, the airport deferred its debt service on existing obligations
The airport does have an agreement with Majestic Realty for the nonaeronautical development of 308 acres in Hanover Tp (NorCo) over the next 50 years.
Stoudt advised that the deadline for REAL ID has been extended until May 7, 2025.
What are the whiners going to do when the landfill closes and the prices at the other landfill go up. What is LST going to do when they lose the host fee and have to raise taxes. Are the citizens going to just stop making trash? I understand environmental effects, but you also have to understand reality.
ReplyDeleteDo these passenger numbers also include the Transbridge riders who board at the Airport for Port Authority NY? If so, that would be a significant % of their travelers.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter's family, including the five grandchildren, live in Pittsburgh. It used to be so simple -- ten minutes to LVIA, get on the plane, 45 minutes later you are in Pittsburgh. If the industry was there to serve the public, surely, all those years my grandchildren were growing up, there could have been a flight to Pittsburgh from Allentown. Instead, they turn a simple trip across the state into a nightmare that takes longer than riding the bus.
ReplyDeleteYou can certainly tell the difference by watching the busier skies. It's also interesting that the cargo planes (easily identified by phone apps) make screaming tight turns on approach and seem to buzz rooftops in Bushkill and Upper Naz at about 2,000' vs passenger planes which seem to come in more gently, for lack of a better term.
ReplyDeleteMy father in law sat on board there years ago. I love being around aircraft like I did during Vietnam War. I’m retired 3 times but wish I had something to do over there. I know from past experiences that after I get a handle on problems , I figure it out , just like the cable business years ago and parking ticket avoiding people that didn’t pay . Disabled people need personal attention in airports,I could do that .
ReplyDeletePutting Covid aside for a minute, how many more extensions and delays do we need for people to get the real ID? This has been going on for years and there’s no excuse why somebody shouldn’t have one by now if they wanted or needed to get one.
ReplyDelete