JWA traffic up for first time since Sept. 11

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- For the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist

attacks, passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport has shown an increase

over last year -- a significant turning point for the local economy.

April saw a 5.6% increase in passenger traffic over April 2001:

657,598 passengers came through John Wayne last month, compared with

622,694 in April 2001.

Though March 2002 also showed a steady rise over recent months, there

was still a 1.2% decline in passengers compared with the March before.

“Our passengers are increasing monthly,” said Ann McCarley, a

spokeswoman for John Wayne Airport. “Every month is getting better.”

McCarley said John Wayne Airport’s high proportion of business

travelers continues to lead the recovery.

“I think this increase is attributed to the strong economy in Orange

County, where we have so many business travelers,” she said.

Like every other airport in the country, John Wayne Airport

experienced a huge drop in passenger counts immediately after the East

Coast terrorist attacks. In September 2001, the number of passengers

plummeted 33%, to 403,467, from the September 2000 count of 604,019.

Since that time, the drop off in passengers has been slowly improving,

but last month was the first time growth was evident.

The latest news doesn’t mean that air travel at the airport is as it

was. On the contrary, airline officials are still recommending that

passengers arrive at least two hours before their flights. McCarley said

this will allow time for parking, check in and security checks.

“We’ve had some issues recently where people didn’t allow enough time,

and they missed their flights,” McCarley said. “Two hours is still the

recommended lead time, especially in the mornings and especially on

Monday morning, which is our busiest time.”

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .