Smaller Community Air Service Challenges
While every airport situation is unique, there are several challenges that most small and non-hub airports face in their efforts to keep and improve commercial air service. These usually include at least one and often several of the following:
- Passenger leakage to larger airports
- Local demographic and economic characteristics that appear unattractive to airlines
- Proximity to legacy network hub
- Proximity to airport with an LCC
- Small populations that are geographically isolated
- Fragmentation of local passenger traffic base among competing nearby airports
- Predominantly inbound markets that rely on tourism
There is currently a pilot shortage that also has grave implications for many communities, but small communities will feel most of the loss. New federal regulations have increased flight training requirements for commercial pilot licenses and have caused many regional airlines and small carriers to cut service, forcing communities to fight to retain existing service. These new regulations coupled with economic and industry forces (including a decrease in the supply of military-trained pilots) all attribute to the pilot shortage.