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TIA Passenger Numbers Down Again In December

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By TED JACKOVICS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 8, 2009

TAMPA - Preliminary data for December passenger traffic at Tampa International Airport shows the same gloomy trends shaped by the poor national economy in the previous eight months.

The outlook for early 2009 does not appear any better and airport officials may revise the budget in March, airport director Louis Miller said this morning. The airport already has taken steps to reduce utilities costs and be cautious with hiring.

The number of outbound passengers in December appears to have declined between 11 percent and 13 percent from the 771,544 passengers who flew out of the airport in December 2007, Miller said.

In November, there were 672,098 outbound passengers, down 13.5 percent compared with November 2007.

The number of inbound passengers generally equals outbound passengers at TIA.

Miller said he expects to present the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority with a revised fiscal year 2008-09 budget at the monthly meeting March 5 to account for possible revenue shortfalls.

Only 24 percent of Tampa International's revenue is derived from airline-generated sources such as landing fees and rentals. The majority of the $189 million budgeted this year is from airport concession fees and rentals.

But with fewer passengers, revenue such as parking, which was projected to generate $60 million this year, continues to decline.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817 or tjackovics@tampatrib.com.

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