ROANOKE, Va. – There are small signs of progress for the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport.
The airport hit an all-time low of just 25 passengers one day last month.
In the last 10 days, the airport has seen at least 100 passengers a day.
People are starting to book more flights for late summer and fall.
Airport directors said no carriers have pulled out and they don't expect that to happen.
They say the wild card will be what businesses decide to do regarding travel, since that typically makes up about 60% of their traffic.
“Having business travelers come back is going to be a critical component for us to be able to rebuild that air service that's been cut because of the lack of demand as well as growing the airport going forward,” said Brad Boettcher, director of marketing and air service development for the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport.
Boettcher expects it could take three years to recover 70 to 80% of the capacity the airport saw last year.