BY JENNIFER PALMER, Business Writer
The Oklahoman
3/18/2010

Air travel has been slow to recover at Oklahoma’s major commercial
airports, officials say.

Both Will Rogers World Airport and Tulsa International Airport reported a
drop in outbound passengers last month, compared with the previous year.
It’s a trend that has been tough to shake.

"We’re aware of the fact that we haven’t recovered. Our local economy isn’t
recovering as quickly as the national economy,” said Alexis Higgins, a
spokeswoman for Tulsa International Airport.

The airport posted a more than 6.5 percent drop in February departures.
Data from Will Rogers World Airport shows a more than 2 percent decrease in
February departures.

Karen Carney, a spokeswoman for Will Rogers World Airport, said winter
weather again affected travel in February — not just in Oklahoma City, but
across the nation.

But there were positive signs, she added.

Frontier Airlines posted an increase in Oklahoma City departures, largely
because of its newly added daily flights to Orlando and Tampa, Fla.

All the airlines reported full flights last weekend during the start of
spring break, she said.

"We’re very optimistic about March,” she said.

Tulsa, too, was busy because of spring break, as well as several sporting
events, Higgins said. Lines at the security checkpoint Sunday morning were
a good sign, she said.
"As an airport person, I like to see lines at the checkpoint. That means we
have people in the building getting on airplanes,” she said.

Lawton also is down
Departures from Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport dropped nearly 26 percent
in February as the airport continues to recover from the loss of Delta
Airlines during April 2009.

Outbound passengers totaled 3,746 last month, down from 5,057 in 2009.