Peoria Station

Peoria International Airport handled 326,861 passengers in 2020.  The year 2021 is almost over, but I only noticed this moments ago  in the statistics area on the Peoria International Airport's website . I have no idea when it was posted. Normally, the most recent annual passenger (and cargo) traffic stats are released by mid-January of the following year. I don't recall this information appearing in a press release or local media.  Suffice if to say, COVID-19 restrictions devastated local airline traffic and service. The local airport handled 689,416 passengers in 2019. So 2020 figures represent a 52.6 percent decline. It may take a long time to recover, if that is possible.  It must be possible, as that is the only hope we have. Delta Connection ended its Atlanta nonstops last year, emphasizing service out of Bloomington-Normal instead. But in May, PIA officials met with the carrier asking for service restoration . If and when the covid scare concludes, and business travel re

Peoria International Airport may land a foreign carrier in the not-too-distant future.  It would be the result of a proposed Commercial Alliance Agreement between  Allegiant Air and Viva Aerobus announced on December 1.  Allegiant (NASDAQ: ALGT) and Viva Aerobus today announced plans for a fully-integrated Commercial Alliance Agreement, designed to dramatically expand options for nonstop leisure air travel between the United States and Mexico, while lowering fares to make travel more accessible and affordable for residents of both nations. The alliance is not only the first such venture for Las Vegas-based Allegiant and Viva Aerobus, but is also first-of-its-kind in the airline industry between two ultra low cost carriers (ULCCs). The two carriers' regulatory filing includes maps of proposed routes. On page 68 of the Joint Application for Approval of and Antitrust Immunity for Commercial Alliance Agreement, maps for 2026 and 2031 show nonstop service from Peoria to Cancun and San