CAK Officials Optimistic About Travel Rebound

Officials at Akron-Canton Airport are cautiously optimistic that they will see an increase in travelers this year.

They pointed to passenger numbers during the Christmas holiday travel season that were the most robust since the COVID-19 pandemic began last spring.

Nonetheless, air travel at the airport remains well below what it was before the pandemic.

The latest figures show that through October, 254,135 air travelers had used the airport located in Green between its namesake cities.

That is a 68 percent drop from the same period in 2019. Things were so bad last April that the daily passenger count at Akron-Canton fell to 30 compared with the pre-pandemic 2,000 a day.

The Thanksgiving and Christmas travel period, though gave the airport a boost, said CAK marketing official Lisa Dalpiaz.

“We are certainly seeing an uptick,” she said. “Family and friends were traveling to see one another.”

The AAA Ohio Auto Club recently said a survey it conducted found 59 percent of Ohio residents are considering taking a trip in 2021 that would involve an overnight stay.

Thirty-one percent of respondents said they had already made reservations for such a trip.

But the survey also contained a cautionary note in that 56 percent said they were still “somewhat” or “very uncomfortable” with traveling.

 “These results show that Ohioans want to travel, but are still uncertain about what 2021 will bring,” said Jeremy Marshal, vice president of travel sales for AAA Ohio Auto Club.

“As long as coronavirus concerns remain, we will likely continue to see more spur-of-the-moment travel decisions to outdoor destinations such as parks and outdoor attractions in Ohio and surrounding states.”

Tags: AAA Ohio Auto Club, air travel, airline service in Northeast Ohio, Akron-Canton Airport