Despite its size, the Gainesville Regional Airport is in competition with other major airports.
According to U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics for Florida airports, the Gainesville airport ranks the highest percentages in the categories of most flights, passengers and seats.
Laura Aguiar, a public relations manager for the airport, attributed the buoyancy of the Gainesville airport to a strong base of business travelers.
“There seems to be a trend in the airline industry that is focusing hard on the business travelers, which, that is good for us since we have strong business traffic,” Aguiar said.
She also noted students, Ocala residents and snowbirds keep seasonal traffic high.
Charles Gray, a frequent business flyer from New York, said his experience at the Gainesville airport was positive.
“I drop off the car, get the ticket, and there is no hassle waiting in lines,” he said.
According to the Department of Transportation data, Gainesville has been on a pattern of growth for the past couple of years as compared to the national average for major airports, which is declining.
Statistics for Gainesville show an average number of 11,120 passengers in 2009, a low point airports across the country experienced due to the recession.
But Gainesville saw development as business picked up back in the fall of 2010 when a direct flight to Miami became available.
The direct route to Miami picked up drive traffic as more people opted to fly rather than drive.
Sonam Patel, a 21-year-old UF sociology senior, feels sometimes it is too much of a hassle to drive.
“I would use this airport to connect somewhere out of state and save time and money rather than driving home taking a flight there,” said Patel.
The airport is working toward providing direct flights to New York City next, Aguiar said.
A version of this story ran on page 4 on 9/5/2013 under the headline "Gainesville airport shows increasing growth pattern"
