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St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport sees passenger counts rise in May

In May, the airport saw 61 percent fewer passengers than in the same month a year ago. That’s an improvement over April’s 97 percent loss.
Through October, flights taking off or landing at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport are using the airport's secondary runway That's the one shown here in roughly the 2 o'clock position. The change will take place as a contractor works on a nearly year-long job to repave the airport's main north-south runway. The change means residents in Feather Sound, Pinellas Park, Largo, Seminole, Redington Shores, Redington Beach, and North Redington Beach likely will see — and hear — more flyover traffic. But it comes at a time when flight operations are down because the COVID-19 pandemic has driven down demand for air travel. (Visit St. Pete/Clearwater)
Through October, flights taking off or landing at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport are using the airport's secondary runway That's the one shown here in roughly the 2 o'clock position. The change will take place as a contractor works on a nearly year-long job to repave the airport's main north-south runway. The change means residents in Feather Sound, Pinellas Park, Largo, Seminole, Redington Shores, Redington Beach, and North Redington Beach likely will see — and hear — more flyover traffic. But it comes at a time when flight operations are down because the COVID-19 pandemic has driven down demand for air travel. (Visit St. Pete/Clearwater) [ Visit St. Pete/Clearwater ]
By
Published June 9, 2020|Updated June 9, 2020

CLEARWATER — St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport saw 78,506 passengers in May — more than in April when most flights were canceled, but still 61 percent below the same month last year.

Outbound passengers slightly outnumbered those flying in. In April, typically a busy month driven by spring break visitors, airport traffic dropped 97 percent to just 5,799 passengers for the entire month — the fewest in more than 15 years and lower than at any time during the Great Recession.

By comparison, during 2019 the airport saw 205,821 passengers in April and 199,589 in May.

The airport said Sunwing Airlines’ seasonal service to Halifax and Toronto, Canada is expected to resume in the fall. Sun Country’s charter flights to the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Miss., are expected to resume this summer.

As it waits for air travel to return, the airport, a department of Pinellas County government, plans to use an $8.7 million pandemic relief grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to cover payroll costs for its 59 full-time employees.

The airport had a record 2.3 million passengers last year, following a decade when passenger traffic almost doubled.

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