El Paso International Airport reports a steep descent of business due to pandemic

EL PASO, Texas -- The outbreak of Covid-19 has affected life, all aspects of life to include business. Even big business has not been immune to the challenges brought on by Covid-19. The aviation business has taken a significant toll as social distancing guidelines have kept many at home rather than in the airport.

El Paso International Airport has not made it out unscathed from the pandemic, as it has reported a 50% decrease in airline traffic through the month of March. Officials with the airport are expecting to report a loss in revenue at the end of the fiscal year totaling more than $8 million.

Not all is lost though, the airport is getting a major helping hand in the form of a government grant. Through the CARES Act, the airport will be awarded $15.4 million dollars to help operations remain steady through the rest of the year, and help the airport build a budget through the following year.

"In addition to the federal dollars that we got through the CARES Act that was allocated to the FAA, specifically to airports, we did receive $15 million to make sure we remain financially viable," the airport's Chief Aviation Director Sam Rodriguez said.

The grant comes at a welcomed time for the airport as recently as April the airport was reporting a loss in business. The fear of Covid-19 playing out in the minds of travelers so much that the airport reported a low of just 251 passengers for a single day back on April 14.

"We saw a huge drop in travel back during 9/11 that rebounded and we were trucking along here locally with the airport with some numbers that had been increasing in terms of percentage of travel before the pandemic hit. So, its definitely caused an impact but nothing like we've seen in the past especially in April," Rodriguez said.

In order to qualify for the federal aid the airport has had to maintain at least 90% of their original airport staff employed. That includes security and emergency services, custodians, facility and airfield maintenance. While passenger cargo is nothing to write home about at this time, cargo plane numbers have remained consistent thanks to online shopping.

"U.P.S. and Fedex and D.H.L. functioning out of the airport as long as the activity continues through home orders and delivery of cargo, we'll continue to see those numbers remain somewhat stable," Rodriguez said.

One sector that has seen traffic increase locally is due to the military. Construction on Biggs Army Airfield has led Fort Bliss to use the El Paso International Airport at this time.

While the future of the pandemic is unclear, the airport has put a plan in place to help them continue their day to day operations.