Evansville Regional Airport Reports Highest Traffic in a Decade

Passenger traffic, last year, at Evansville Regional Airport (EVV) was the highest it has been in more than a decade. And while passenger counts are on the rise, average fares at EVV have dropped, positioning Evansville Regional Airport as one of the fastest growing and most competitive-priced airports in the area. EVV’s annual traffic grew by nearly seven percent in 2018, in comparison to passenger counts the previous year. EVV reports that through Dec. 2018, year-to-date enplanements, or passengers departing from EVV, totaled 235,082, surpassing the prior year’s traffic that totaled 220,046 passengers. EVV’s total number of travelers, which includes the passengers who flew in to EVV from other airports, also grew last year, to nearly a half million people annually. EVV’s passenger traffic has grown by 35 percent in only four short years.

Nate Hahn, who assumed the role of EVV’s new executive director, effective Jan.1, 2019, said that in the second quarter of last year alone, EVV achieved a 10 percent growth in traffic, paired with a 10 percent decline in airfares. The lower fares at EVV, Hahn said, are a result of many factors, including overall fare declines, more airlines and increased capacity, leisure-oriented market growth and Allegiant's new nonstop flights to Destin, Florida.

In addition to the positive impact being made from EVV’s recent air service additions, such as American Airline’s morning flights to Dallas-Ft. Worth and the larger aircraft that was added to support the service, along with Allegiant’s low-cost, nonstop flights to Orlando and Destin, Hahn said travelers are simply choosing to take advantage of EVV’s worldwide connectivity and convenience.

This all comes during a time when EVV has also worked to enhance the customer experience through a terminal modernization project, which was completed Dec. of last year. The renovation includes many improvements, such as centralized screening with a dedicated TSA PreCheck lane and new post-security amenity rooms that include a pet relief area, nursing rooms for mothers, a kid’s area and a new business lounge. EVV’s new design also provided the airport restaurant and bar the opportunity to move post-security, while adding an innovative touch-screen ordering option for the non-traveling public in the new pre-security waiting area. There have been many other aesthetically pleasing and customer friendly enhancements and upgrades made to EVV’s terminal facilities and parking lot, including new floor coverings and furniture with built-in mobile device charging stations, new skylights, environmentally friendly elements to support the airport’s sustainability efforts and commitment to the earth, along with a new parking management system.

[Source: Leslie Fella/Evansville Regional Airport]