CIRA Passenger Volume Up in 2026!


Bloomington-Normal, Illinois' Central Illinois Regional Airport passenger volume is up in 2026.

According to the airport authority's regular meeting minutes for September 2026, enplanements are up 12.5 percent January to August over the same period in 2025. August 2026 traffic is up 8.3 percent over August 2025. 

Enplanements (boarding) are only half the story, but deplanements are similar. We know that CIRA handled about 325,000 passengers in 2025, so if we assume the 12.5 percent increase holds through December (depending on the month), then 2026 traffic will be about 365,000. 

This figure is still well short of the 421,519 passengers handled in 2019 and far below the facility's all-time record of 579,265 in 2011. But the increase through August shows a healthy recovery from COVID-era cutbacks. 

Delta Connection's addition of a third daily Atlanta nonstop is cited for the increase, though Allegiant Air's seasonal Phoenix-Mesa nonstops, set to return November 20, are also a factor. Had United Express service to Chicago-O'Hare proceeded this spring, the figure would have been significantly higher. 

- David P. Jordan

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