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Durango airport sees dip in passengers

Director says demand still high, drop is not related to Gold King

The number of people who boarded a plane at the Durango-La Plata County Airport in 2015 is down slightly so far compared with last year.

Frontier Airlines’ departure from Durango is likely the main cause behind the drop in passengers, said airport director Kip Turner.

The total number of enplanements, or people who boarded a plane, is down about 1 percent so far this year – from about 127,000 in 2014 to about 126,000 in 2015. Enplanements are the industry’s standard for gauging growth.

“The adjustment we’re seeing is very marginal compared to what it could have been,” he said.

This summer, the airport has seen slightly fewer passengers boarding each month compared with last year. In August, it had a 5 percent drop – from about 19,900 enplanements in August 2014 to about 18,900 enplanements.

Turner said the decline in August is part of the market adjustment and likely not related to the Gold King Mine blowout that turned the Animas River orange in August.

“I don’t think we’ve seen any effects at the airport,” he said.

He is also pleased with the number of seats the other airlines are providing in the wake of Frontier’s departure because it often takes a few years for a regional airport to recover service when a carrier leaves.

The additional service the other airlines, American Airlines in particular, are providing is evidence of high demand in the area.

“What we’ve seen has really been incredible,” he said.

The city and county are planning to either rebuild or remodel the current airport terminal to meet demand.

To prepare for that construction project, the airport started an environmental assessment last week that will take a year to a year and half, Turner said.

“We are actually still right on track with the project,” he said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com

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