COLORADO SPRINGS– The Colorado Springs Airport has seen more passengers in June than they have had in the past 2 decades. More than 206,000 passengers came through the Colorado Springs Airport in June, which is a 12% increase from the same time last year.
The Director of Aviation at the Colorado Springs Airport, Greg Phillips said one of the reasons the airport is seeing an increase in passengers is because there are more flight options.
“We've seen a lot of growth from our carriers, so we have more options, we have more airlines, we have more routes. That makes it easy and the fact that Colorado Springs Airport is so easy to get in and out of, we hear that time and again from people. So if we have the opportunities and if the fares are reasonable, we think people want to fly out of Colorado Springs, and that's what we're seeing,” Phillips said.
This summer the airport added Avelo and Sun Country Airlines. Southwest and Delta also added more flight destinations. People can now fly to Atlanta, Los Angeles/Hollywood-Burbank, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Long Beach. Phillips said the new flight options contributed to more people booking flights from COS.
“My message to the community is, if you want to see the airport grow, use the airport. So that's what the airlines see and that helps bring more service and we are definitely seeing more of that,” Phillips said.
KOAA News 5 asked Phillips if more people traveling through the airport are making lines at security longer?
Phillips said lines are longer during busy flight times.
“There are times when there are several flights going out, and then those times the checkpoint can back up some. But still, we average 10 to 12 minutes wait in the TSA checkpoint, but we do in the early morning particularly have longer lines,” Phillips said.
Phillips recommends people arrive at the airport an hour and a half before their departure. In addition to more flight options the airport is also working on three projects.
“For anybody that's flying and comes past our checkpoint, you'll see that we're expanding the queue area for the checkpoint. So that's the first project. We're also installing a new oversized baggage system. For everybody who's traveling with skis or bikes or golf bags, all those things. That's underway right now as well,” Phillips said.
The airport is currently expanding its TSA checkpoint. It is under construction but is expected to be finished in September.
The third project is updating and monitoring the concourse.
“In September, we will start a program to modernize our concourse and that's a three-year eight phase project. But we'll have a lot of great upgrades there. So these are all things that are designed to help us plan for the future and ensure that as we have more people, we can still keep that small Colorado airport environment,” Phillips said.
One of the reasons the airport is working on these projects is to make travel easy and faster for Colorado Springs residents and visitors.
“We're doing these projects to be able to make sure that we can continue to keep flow through the airport,” Phillips said.
Phillips said the airport is always looking for ways to improve. Airport staff meets with airlines to talk about expansions and conferences or at their headquarters. The COS service team will be meeting with airlines again in August.
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