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Passenger traffic down 95% at Clinton National Airport; slow recovery expected

"As you walk down the concourse, you'll be lucky if you see a few people who are waiting for a flight," airport spokesperson Shane Carter said.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — As the Coronavirus pandemic continues, passenger traffic has reached historic lows at airports across the country. Clinton National Airport is no exception.

"On average for about the last month, we've seen a 95% decrease in the number of passengers that we saw based on this time last year," Shane Carter, director of public affairs for Clinton National Airport, said.

About 250 passengers left out of Clinton National on Sunday, April 26 compared to 4,500 on a typical day. Carter described the terminal as "eerie" and "quiet."

"As you walk down the concourse, you'll be lucky if you see a few people who are waiting for a flight," he said.

All food and beverage outlets are closed, aside from one newsstand and The Great American Bagel Bakery located beyond the security checkpoint.

Airlines are operating on a reduced schedule. An average of 12 flights are departing the airport each day — far fewer than the 45 to 50 daily departures during normal operations.

"So not only are you seeing very limited ticket counter operations but also just one or two people working the ticket counter and into the gate area with just a few flights per day," Carter said.

Carter said the airport is looking at its business continuity plan and how it returns to normal operations when the situation allows. 

"The Airport Commission is working with our tenants — primarily the food and beverage operator and the retail operator and the rental car operators — and providing some financial relief from the monthly payments they're required to submit to us," he said.

Airlines are receiving assistance under the CARES Act.

The airport itself will also receive $25 million in federal funding to continue operations and make up for lost revenue. In all, 76 Arkansas airports will receive $51.3 million under the CARES Act.

"We're expecting a very slow recovery," Carter said. "The majority of our traffic out of the Little Rock airport consists of leisure travelers. About 65% of those, in fact, are leisure travelers, and we think it's going to take a lot of time to build back that volume to where we've been."

With zero debt and a "healthy" reserve, Clinton National is in a strong financial position, according to Carter. All of its 155 employees remain on the job, aside from several who took voluntary furloughs.

Several construction projects continue at the airport, including improvements in the pre-security lobby.

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