Airport reports increased numbers

The Rock Springs/Sweetwater County Airport’s passenger numbers are up and the manager is hoping this trend will continue.

During a recent Sweetwater County Commissioners meeting, airport manager Devon Brubaker said the airport is up 12 percent in passengers compared to last year at this time. Of course, more passengers equals more revenue.

Not only is the airport seeing an increase in passengers, but more passengers are paying for upgrades and more people are connecting past Denver. 

“Historically, a bulk of our traffic only went to Denver, but because of our new airfares we’re seeing people connecting past Denver and even into the international routes, which is allowing for a higher average airfare because of the connecting market there,” Brubaker said. “So everything’s looking phenomenal on air service.”

He said they have always had people flying international, but since their rates have decreased they are more competitive and it almost costs the same as flying out of Salt Lake City. By the time one adds in the cost of gas, parking and possible hotel room it’s cheaper just to fly out of Rock Springs on some flights.

Another side benefit is the fun casino flights to Wendover, Nev. Currently, five flights a year go to the city.

However, starting in January this flight will be offered every month. For the past six months in a row, these flights have completely sold out.

The increase will generate money for the airport and give exposure to local residents using this flight.

For example: a resident may have never used the airport before, but then they decide to fly for a casino trip, which gives the person an opportunity to fly locally. They may be more apt to do it again when they need to fly somewhere else.

The airport is seeing positive growth across the board, including air cargo, which is up 1 percent. The only area not seeing a positive growth is fuel. When fuel prices go up, the budget takes a hit.

As for the operation side of things, the airport was inspected this summer by the Federal Aviation Administration and for the second year in a row their inspection was perfect. He said the employees are the ones who should receive the praise since they are the ones making sure the airfield is in top notch condition.

Looking toward the future, Brubaker said the general aviation terminal and hanger facility will be opening up Dec. 16.

The terminal will open up two to three weeks after that because they need to get things ready inside.

One area of concern is the budget is about $160,000 behind.

“We are doing everything we can try to and save money and cut costs,” he said.

Brubaker said they are looking at everything even things as small as what blinds they purchase, however, he said they may need to come back to both the city of Rock Springs and the county for help.