The number of passengers traveling through Asheville Regional Airport dropped sharply in October, according to figures released Friday by the airport authority board.
Overall passenger traffic numbers in October 2024 were down about 53% compared to October 2023.
Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority President and CEO Lew Bleiweis said in a memo to the board that the decline was “a result of Hurricane Helene.”
Flights to and from Asheville operated at about 46% capacity in October 2024, compared with about 81% capacity a year earlier. As a result of the storm, one carrier, Sun Country Airlines, halted its seasonal service on Oct. 6, roughly a month earlier than scheduled, according to an update from airport authorities in early October.
Hurricane Helene wreaked historic devastation on much of Western North Carolina in late September, with damage in the state estimated at $58 billion. Homes, businesses, roads and bridges were destroyed, and the Asheville area endured a 53-day water crisis. Safe drinking water was restored only on November 18.
Local tourism leaders project that as a result of the storm damage and decreased visitor traffic, businesses reliant on tourism and hospitality in Buncombe County could see revenue losses up to 70% in the final quarter of the year – a loss of about $585 million for the local economy.
Last year, a record 2.2 million passengers flew into or out of Asheville Regional Airport, a figure that reflects the region’s status as a growing tourism destination. The airport is in the midst of a $400 million expansion, with work on a new passenger terminal expected to be completed in 2026.
For every month this year prior to September, total monthly passenger traffic through Asheville Regional Airport exceeded the previous year’s number.
So far this year, overall passenger traffic through the airport is 1,869,397 – roughly the same as it was last year, when the figure to date was 1,869,214. But with tourism continuing to lag, it appears unlikely that the airport will exceed last year’s total.
Correction: The headline of an earlier version of this piece incorrectly stated that passenger traffic at AVL was down by nearly half. This version has been corrected.
