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PANAMA CITY BEACH: Traffic at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) has plummeted in the past two months, but they say the facility remains ahead of last year’s record pace.
According to a report published by the Airport Authority at its board meeting on Wednesday, the number of passengers in June decreased by about 13% compared to the same time last year. This is the consecutive time when the airport has experienced a drop in traffic. There were also about 13% fewer passengers from May to May 2021.
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Even so, the figures for the first 4 months of 2022 were higher than those of 2021, the busiest year in the history of the airport. ECP served approximately 11,700 more passengers in the first six months of this year than at the same time last year, and approximately 129,000 more passengers than in the same era in 2019.
“We’re down thirteen percent, but it’s not an unexpected number that (creates) big concerns,” said Parker McClellan, the airport’s chief executive. “We still see a very strong market in and out of Panama City Beach and outside the Area. “
McClellan said he believed there were two major points in the drop in passenger numbers in May and June: a decline in travel demand and continued inflation.
In addition to the increase in ticket prices over the past year, there was a large pent-up demand for 2021 that was generated in 2020 due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As we look at what the effects have been on the economic matrix . . . we’re not worried about the numbers going down a little bit, because discretion is one of the first things to do when you have those economic (points),” McClellan said. . ” Demand has also dropped a bit because other people can move on to another place. “
Looking ahead, McClellan said that while he expects the total number of passengers this year to be lower than in 2021, he believes it will continue to outpace that of 2019, showing that the ECP business continues to thrive.
“We’re still successful, and I think it’s being discovered (with the fact that),” McClellan said. “There are other people who like to come to our domain for this southern hospitality and white sand beaches, and they will keep coming for that. “
This article made the impression in The News Herald: Bay County’s ECP airport appears to be dropping passengers, still ahead of last year’s