Federal report: St. George airport, destination hubs see major increase in boardings

File photo of the tarmac at St. George Regional Airport, St. George Utah, May 14, 2021 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Airports are busy places. Look no further than St. George Regional Airport and the hubs it serves.

Aerial view of St. George Regional Airport and the greater St. George area, undated | Photo courtesy of Federal Aviation Administration, St. George News

According to a report recently released by the Federal Aviation Administration, enplanements were up across the nation in 2021, an expected result when compared with COVID-influenced 2020. Be that as it may, the statistics tell a story of just how many passengers are boarding airplanes at the nation’s airports, several of which are frequented by Southern Utah-based travelers.

While the data reveals Atlanta (30.7 million passengers in 2021) as the busiest airport in the U.S., Salt Lake City International ranks 20th out of the 479 commercial services airports included in the 13-page report. Locally, St. George Regional (SGU) ranks 191st and Cedar City 374th.

The FAA defines enplanements as “passenger boarding” at a particular airport. Comparatively speaking, SLC enplaned approximately 10.8 million passengers in 2022, compared with 5.98 million passengers in 2021, while SGU enplaned 80,562 and 153,200 people, respectively. That computes to an 80.5% increase in Salt Lake and 90.16% in St. George.

One airport official said the surge in people flying is a direct result of the population increase.

“I believe it has to do with the growth of the Greater Zion area,” St. George Regional Airport Manager Richard Stehmeier wrote in an email interview with St. George News. “We have had a huge influx of people from around the nation, and as they move into the area, they need to fly to various destinations.”

And those destinations – Salt Lake City, Denver, Phoenix and Dallas-Fort Worth – are some of the busiest hubs in the country and the four cities SGU serves via SkyWest Airlines.

The FAA report revealed the following about these hubs (Salt Lake City data is listed above):

  • Dallas-Fort Worth is second only to Atlanta with approximately 30 million enplanements in 2021, up from 20.6 million in 2020 (61.38% increase).
  • Denver ranks third and boarded 28.7 million passengers in 2021, versus 16.2 million in 2020 (76.35% increase)
  • Phoenix lands ninth, with 18.9 million people enplaned in 2021 and 10.5 million in 2020 (79.85% increase).
A Delta Airlines aircraft on the tarmac in Cody, Wyoming, June 26, 2021 | Photo by Vin Cappiello, St. George News

Similarly, Cedar City, which served both United and Delta until June 2021, ranks 374th with 12,807 boarding in 2021 and 5,883 travelers in 2020 for a 177.70%  increase.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, even with the increase in passengers flying out of SGU, the airport has a high success rate when it comes to on-time departures. In 2020, 91% of its 2,695 flights departed on time, and in 2021, 88% of 3,810 flights were on time.

“I think that is a direct result of a couple of things,” Stehmeier said. “First, very dedicated staff in the SkyWest ground handling and ground support department. They work hard. Second is our amazing weather that doesn’t cause weather delays.”

Some Southern Utah travelers also are willing to hop on Interstate 15 and drive two hours to the eighth busiest airport in the country. Las Vegas boarded 19.2 million passengers in 2021, up from 10.6 million in 2020, for an 81% increase.

So as the number of flights increases, so too do fuel costs, the number of passengers and the demands on airport and airline staff. Add to that what the U.S. Census Bureau dubs a  national trend that shows fewer people willing to work, a factor Stehmeier said is worth considering, and it falls to passengers to embrace the travel experience.

“Realize that flying is suffering from the same thing that the rest of the nations is suffering through – i.e., a lack of workers,” he said. “This has hit the airline industry especially hard, and as a result, we all need to be a bit more patient with each other. If you are happy and pleasant, your experience will be much better.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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