GREEN, Ohio — The Akron-Canton Airport is hoping that a proposed $1 million incentive fund to Delta Air Lines will help lure back the popular carrier, and its coveted flights to Atlanta.
The incentive is one strategy that airport and community leaders are planning to use to boost the small airport, which has seen a dramatic loss of passengers and flights since the coronavirus pandemic brought the travel industry to a near standstill earlier this year.
According to airport data, just 16,002 passengers passed through the Akron-Canton Airport in August, the most recent month available. That’s a 76% drop from the same month a year before.
In comparison, nearby Cleveland Hopkins International Airport experienced a 66% drop in passenger traffic in August 2020 compared to the year before. Nationwide, air traffic was down 70% between August 2020 and August 2019, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Ren Camacho, president and CEO of the Akron-Canton Airport, said smaller airports face bigger recovery challenges in the wake of air travel’s unprecedented downturn.
“Smaller regional airports are having a more difficult time,” he said. “The airlines are getting smaller, and when they get smaller they tend to focus on their hub activities, those routes that will be as profitable as possible for them.”
The Akron-Canton Airport has an average of only seven flights per day this month, and four destinations – Charlotte and Philadelphia, via American Airlines; Chicago O’Hare, flown by United Airlines; and Orlando, via Spirit Airlines.
Three additional routes are expected to restart in December: Washington Dulles International Airport via United Airlines; and Fort Myers and Tampa airports, via Spirit.
In November last year, the airport also offered nonstop service to Washington Reagan, New York LaGuardia, Houston and Atlanta.
Nonstop Delta service to Atlanta, the world’s largest airport, is the route the community most wants back, according to Camacho, who has spent recent months reaching out to local travelers about their needs.
The Akron-Canton Airport may be the first to tap a new $10 million air service development fund created by JobsOhio, the private economic development arm of state government.
The fund, created early this year, was initially intended to help Ohio airports compete for new routes, including international service, against airports in Pennsylvania, Indiana and other states that provide subsidies for flights. The fund also can be used by airports seeking to restore service eliminated in recent months.
“We are working closely with our airports to attract new service,” said JobsOhio spokesman Matt Englehart. “Airports are just now identifying gaps in service long term where the program may be useful.”
JobsOhio will contribute $800,000 to Akron-Canton’s $1 million fund. The remaining $200,000 will come from the Akron-Canton community, including businesses and local governments. The airport itself is prohibited by law from paying airlines for service, although it can waive certain fees.
Delta Air Lines suspending service at Akron-Canton Airport
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Camacho said a committee with representatives from JobsOhio and the community is hoping to approach Delta later this year with the goal of restarting service sometime in spring 2021.
Although the incentive payment details have not been finalized, the $1 million fund likely would not be an outright payment to the airline, but rather a guarantee of revenue, should the route not generate profit on its own, said Lisa Dalpiaz, the airport’s director of marketing and air service development.
“We understand they have a business decision to make,” said Camacho. “We have an opportunity to try to mitigate some of that risk. We want to see them back.”
A spokesman for Delta declined to say whether the financial incentive might sway the carrier.
Said the spokesman: “At this time, we do not have a date to resume service to Akron-Canton. We are continuously monitoring demand trends and are rebuilding our network as demand resumes.”
Delta canceled Akron-Canton service in May, a decision that generated objections from Akron-Canton officials, who wrote to the U.S. Department of Transportation to protest the agency’s interpretation of rules governing federal stimulus money.
At the time, airlines that accepted bailout money from the federal CARES Act, including Delta, were prohibited from eliminating service to any markets. The DOT, however, said that Akron-Canton was part of the Cleveland market. Delta maintains service at Cleveland Hopkins.
Camacho believes that Akron-Canton serves a different market than Cleveland.
“Our economy, the greater Akron-Canton economy, is separate from Cleveland’s,” said Camacho. “We’re working diligently to provide our community the air service they need.”
Akron-Canton Airport: By the numbers
Three carriers are currently flying to four destinations:
Charlotte and Philadelphia (American), Chicago (United) and Orlando (Spirit)
Flights per week, November 2020: 46 (expected)
Flights per week, November 2019: 152
Destinations per week, November 2020: 4
Destinations per week, November: 2019: 11
Seats per week, November 2020: 3,016 (expected)
Seats per week, November 2019: 9,987
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