City working to figure out impacts of COVID-19 on Columbia Regional Airport

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

City of Columbia spokesman Steve Sapp said COVID-19 has had an impact on traffic and revenue at Columbia Regional Airport.

The city is still working to calculate exactly how much revenue will be lost due to the virus, and how many fewer people are flying in and out of the airport.

Sapp said the city expects numbers from the airlines any day now that will show how the number of people flying in and out of COU has changed.

"We'll be receiving March numbers in the next few days and that will give us our first taste of what we're likely to see," Sapp said.

He said the numbers will probably be similar to what the airport saw last year when it closed to fix a bump on one of the runways.

Sapp said no employees from the airport have been laid off due to the dip in numbers. He also said he does not expect that to happen because there is always maintenance and other work to be done at COU.

He said staff is also working to clean more as the virus continues to spread. The airport has installed hand sanitizer dispensers and signs to remind people to practice social distancing.

Even though the city does not have exact numbers on revenue or ticket sales, it is still looking at how it will work to recover from the negative impacts of COVID-19.

"The good news is that part of the stimulus package that was passed a week or so ago as part of the CARES Act there are some programs that we can take advantage of that have some reimbursement for lost passenger facility charges and some other revenue," Sapp said.

The city is also adjusting its budget to save as much as possible, by only spending money on what is essential and only hiring essential personnel.

Projects at the airport are continuing despite the slow in business.

"We're still moving forward with runway 2-20 extension. The contractor is finishing up route H right now, so within the next week or two we should see that project completed and that roadway fully reopened," Sapp said.

On Monday the City Council gave the airport approval to move ahead with a project to build a new terminal.

"Overall we still look at having an opening date in early 2022 so that project remains on track," he said.

In February the airport received a grant for $800,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation Small Community Air Service Development Program. The money will be used to add flights to Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Sapp said that project will also move forward as planned, but is now a slower process than what it would have been.

"At this point, we would have probably been close to making some type of announcement, but obviously things have changed," he said. "The good news is they have extended the deadlines for those grants."

Sapp said the city wants to remind people to practice social distancing and safe hygiene practices as they continue to fly in and out of COU, and to be patient as they work to adjust to guidelines and slowly building business back up.