Burlington airport officials happy with small decline

— -- Burlington International Airport officials are pleased with the modest decline they have seen in passenger numbers so far this year. They were expecting worse. The decline follows two consecutive record-setting years of boarding passengers levels.

Through February, the number of people flying from Burlington International Airport dipped by 3%, compared with the same period last year. In January, 53,433 passengers climbed aboard departing planes, a 5.9% drop from last year's tally for the month. In February, the level was essentially flat, a 0.3% decline from February 2008, or 57,047 passengers.

"February was very strong," said Brian Searles, the airport's director, noting the month tally sustained the 12% increase seen between February 2007 and February 2008. "We are going to be happy this year to hold our own, so February's numbers are encouraging."

With the economy in a recession since December 2007 and Vermonters are cutting back, airport planners are preparing for a decline for the year. "Our tolerance is really plus or minus 5%," he said.

AirTran Airways plans to stop service from Burlington to Baltimore in September won't help the airport's boarding figures. Searles said he is still working on ways they can preserve the service. AirTran, which lost money last year, said they plan to make the service seasonal and will return in the spring of 2010.

United Airlines also announced plans to introduce smaller planes on its Burlington to Chicago route, reducing the number of available seats from Burlington.

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