JWA passenger numbers back up

-- Paul Clinton

Nine months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, John Wayne

Airport is a picture of near-perfect health.

After seeing large drops in travel late last year, as fearful

passengers stayed away from airports across the nation, John Wayne

registered a 7.5% increase in May compared with last year.

In May, the passenger count was 694,333 versus the 645,617 who used

the airport in May 2001.

The improving conditions were also shown in the airport’s year-to-date

numbers. So far, the airport has seen a 1.8% increase for the first five

months of the year over last year.

However, while passenger travel has risen, the amount of commercial

flights using the airport has remained basically flat. The airport saw a

0.4% decrease on May versus the same month last year.

Military operations out of John Wayne have also increased. There were

17 military flights compared with eight in May 2001.

Air cargo tonnage showed a sharp drop during the month, an 11.6% hit.

In May, 1,199 tons of cargo were moved through the airport compared with

1,357 from last year.

Air taxi operations, the shorter commuter flights, had the sharpest

drop. There were 42.4% fewer of those flights. General aviation flights

-- which include private and chartered jets -- rose 3.3%.