Cape Girardeau Regional Airport enplanement numbers steady throughout 2023, despite falling under 8,000

Cape Girardeau Regional Airport had 7,638 enplanements in 2023, the airport's first full year with Contour Airlines. The number was below 2022's total of 8,012.

The 7,638 enplanements include 7,287 from Contour, 125 from Cape Air Charter and 226 from SEMO charters, which included airfare supporting SEMO athletics transportation to championship games.

Reaching the number of 8,000 enplanements makes the airport eligible for $600,000 in federal funding, and if it reaches 10,000, the airport would have been eligible for $1 million in federal funding.

Airport manager Katina Amos said while the goal wasn't met, there is still a discussion on what the airport's funding might look like.

"Even though we did not meet that number, that does not preclude us from receiving one of those tiers of funding. We're still waiting for information from the federal government on what our tier will be," Amos said.

Amos also said while the 2023 enplanement numbers were lower, they're still "encouraging".

"Anytime there's an airline transition, there's to be expected an adjustment period," Amos said. "We were introduced to a new market, which required an education process on Contour's operations as well as what Nashville International Airport offers."

The numbers for enplanements stayed steady throughout the year's past compared to more "volatile" periods. Amos said the airport has had a couple of years of volatility in its enplanement numbers.

"You know, 2020 was the pandemic; 2021 was recovering from the pandemic; 2022 is when Sky West announced their departure and the subsequent selection of Contour later in the year," Amos said. "Every year there's been a different scenario that has led to either operations decreasing or not being what they would normally be."

Amos described January, February and March being lower months for travel numbers and seeing a trend of growth after with a peak in July and another peak reaching almost 800 enplanements in December.

According to Amos, the airport also received $1,005,941 in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for the 2024 fiscal year.

The Southeast Missourian reached out to Contour Airlines for comment on airport usage numbers but did not receive a reply.