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Signs of improvement at Memphis International Airport

Airlines are adding flights, and more passengers are taking off since the beginning of the pandemic.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There are slow signs of improvement when it comes to passengers at Memphis International Airport.

When the pandemic hit in March, the bottom fell out of the business.

“We were only getting about 5% of our normal passenger load,” said Memphis International Airport Director Scott Brockman. “There were days when less than 1,000 people had gone through the doors.”

Brockman says there are some promising signs.

“On Thursday,” he said, “... we processed the most passengers since the beginning of the pandemic. It was about 37% of the prior year on that date.”

He says current carriers are actually adding a flight here and there.

“Southwest announced a new direct flight to Phoenix. It doesn’t start until December, but the fact they announced a new flight in this atmosphere is amazing.”

Meanwhile work continues on renovations of concourse B. When it is done, Memphis will be a one concourse town, but it will be a heckuva concourse.

Brockman says it could be three to five years for the airport to get back to normal when it comes to passengers.

“If it takes a long time period to get the traffic back, then we are committed to making sure we will be able to operate and be there when passengers want to fly.”

Memphis International Airport offers passengers every Memphis flight on one website. TAKE OFF WITH US!

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