Peoria Station

Late this afternoon, I shot this image of the new control tower now under construction at General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport. View looks east-southeast from the passenger terminal parking lot.  This structure is located east of the existing tower, and is actually closer to the Byerly Aviation business aviation terminal (out of view at left). Construction is expected to be completed in 2027. By then, the old tower, will have been in operation for 68 years! - David P. Jordan

The story hasn't been posted online yet, but WMBD TV-31 (Peoria) ran a story on Thursday's 6:00pm broadcast on air travel during the upcoming Labor Day weekend.  Most noteworthy is that Peoria International Airport's Director of Operations, Gene Olson, told the station that passenger volume has been running five percent below last year , though he notes that these second place numbers are still pretty good. If this trend continues, then 2026 passenger traffic will probably be about 40,000 less than 2025's record 812,396, or about 772,000. I expected this because the airport has not posted anything publicly on monthly passenger numbers this year. They are quick to do that when there is a record month. If there is no record month, only the full year's stats are released by mid- to late-January in the following year. It should not be this way. Monthly passenger and cargo statistics should be released regardless, and faithfully reported by local print and television med...

Morning airline operations at Peoria Int'l Airport on May 25, 2026 Evening airline operations at Peoria Int'l Airport on May 25, 2026 It is time for my annual update on local airline service.  As usual, I use the month of July for my annaul analysis. Barring last minute changes, the schedules and route map below are accurate. So let us delve into the present situation.  ALLEGIANT AIR Like last year, schedules for July 2026 show most flights operated with Airbus A320 equipment. They do not discern between 177-seat A320s or brand-new 186-seat A320SEOs. Smaller A319s, configured for 156 seats, are used on Las Vegas and Orlando-Sanford routes. Brand new Boeing 737 Max 8-200 aircraft began appearing on St. Petersburg/Clearwater nonstops as early as February 2025 and are also used on some of the Orlando-Sanford nonstops. These new Boeing planes are equipped with 190 seats.  Compared to July 2025, the airline is offering four fewer weekly departures. The most significant change ...

I was in the area of the airport, saw an Allegiant Air A320 at the terminal and realized it was going to depart for Sarasota/Bradenton soon. Take offs on Runway 13 are always the best, even if lighting is not.  Flight 2987 left the gate at 1720 hours.  CAPTION: Allegiant Air A320-200 N197NV departs on Runway 13 at Peoria Int'l Airport late-afternoon Sunday, June 7, 2026. Destination is Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida (SRQ). - David P. Jordan

I caught a little action at Peoria Int'l Airport this evening. I arrived my spot with just seconds to spare for the Allegiant Air 737 MAX-8. The American Eagle retrojet returned, and I stayed awhile to record more action, including the MAX-8's departure. Judging by the passenger terminal parking lot, business is good at PIA! CAPTION: Five commercial airliner movements are shown at Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria Int'l Airport Monday evening, May 25, 2026.  -Allegiant Air Flt 2904, Boeing 737 MAX-8 from Orlando-Sanford -SkyWest Airlines (United Express) Flt 6047, CRJ200 from Chicago-O'Hare -Envoy Airlines (American Eagle) Flt 3740, Embraer 170 to Chicago-O'Hare -PSA Airlines (American Eagle) Flt 5340, CRJ900 to Dallas/Ft. Worth -Allegiant Air Flt 2920, Boeing 737 MAX-8 to Orlando-Sanford - David P. Jordan

I caught a little action at Peoria Int'l Airport this morning. I missed its arrival on Runway 22 but did not expect to see the American Eagle retrojet, so I went back to see its departure. (I may go back this evening to get an Allegiant Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 scheduled from Orlando-Sanford.) CAPTION: Five commercial airliner movements are shown at Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria Int'l Airport Monday morning, May 25, 2026. -SkyWest Airlines (United Express) Flt 4780, CRJ200 to Chicago-O'Hare -Allegiant Air Flt 2465, Airbus A320-200 from Punta Gorda -SkyWest Airlines (United Express) Flt 5455, Embraer 175 to Denver -Allegiant Air Flt 2484, Airbus A320-200 to Punta Gorda -Envoy Airlines (American Eagle) Flt 3741, Embraer 170 to Chicago-O'Hare - David P. Jordan

United Express is increasing service to Peoria again. The carrier has returned to five daily roundtrips between Peoria International Airport and Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, probably this month. But on March 30-31, service increases to SEVEN daily roundtrips. The schedule for that date is as follows- From Chicago-O'Hare 10:02 CRJ200 12:36 CRJ200 14:07 CRJ550 16:44 CRJ200 18:53 CRJ200 21:08 CRJ550 22:27 CRJ200 To Chicago-O'Hare 06:30 CRJ550 08:15 CRJ200 10:40 CRJ200 13:20 CRJ200 14:50 CRJ550 17:25 CRJ200 19:28 CRJ200 Those flights with CRJ550 equipment, offering 50 seats and three-class service, are operated by GoJet Airlines. Those with CRJ200 equipment, offering 50 seats and single-class service, are operated by SkyWest Airlines.  But the frequency buildup is only temporary, as on May 21-22, service is cut back to five daily roundtrips, but with deployment of 76-seat Embraer 175 equipment on at least two, perhaps three roundtrips. I would include a schedule for th...

As expected, Peoria International Airport set a new annual passenger record in 2025. At a news conference inside the passenger terminal this morning , Metropolitan Airport Authority director Gene Olson announced that 812,376 passenger were handled during the past year. The previous record was 689,416 passengers, which was set in 2019. The airport nearly broke its 2019 record with 687,601 passengers in 2024.  The actual record was broken the first eleven months of 2025 when 741,724 passengers had used the airport. This was the first time PIA had exceeded 700,000 passengers in a year. With December traffic at 70,672 - the highest ever for that month - the 800,000 mark was exceeded as well.  PIA benefitted from stable or declining fuel prices, airlines engaging in fierce competition for market share and sufficient pilots to handle the resulting growth. Allegiant Air's low-fare nonstops as well as increased capacity by American Eagle and United Express has attracted travelers not ...

A Sun Country Airlines Boeing 737-700 at Peoria Int'l Airport just after sunrise on June 4, 2013 prepares for departure to Washington, D.C. for an Honor Flight.  Allegiant Air announced January 11 that it will acquire Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines. The deal has already been approved by both airlines' boards of directors and is subject to review by regulators. The airlines expect approval in the last half of 2026.  Sun Country Airlines flies to numerous destinations from Minneapolis/St. Paul, including points in Canada, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. It has a fleet of Boeing 737-800s.  How might this acquisition affect Peoria and Central Illinois? Allegiant Air's joint venture proposal with Mexico's Viva Aerobus is going nowhere for now, but the Las Vegas-based carrier must see potential to offer expanded service to many international leisure destinations. The Allegiant Air-Viva Aerobus joint venture proposal was first announced in late-2...

WMBD-TV Channel 31 ran this story the day after Christmas , with airport director Gene Olson suggesting trends would give Peoria International Airport a record passenger tally in December.  This December might set a record for the busiest month since the COVID-19 pandemic decimated travel. Normally, Peoria sees its highest travel months over the summer, Olson said. So with passenger volume running 20 percent higher this year than in 2024, December numbers might well exceed 80,000 and beat July 2025's all time record of 80,836 passengers? If that happens, the year-end tally will be at least 822,561!  - David P. Jordan

Peoria International Airport handled 741,724 passengers through November of this year, breaking the 2019 all-time record of 689,416 with one month still to go.   An article posted online today by WEEK TV-25 notes that PIA has broken passenger records for 14 of the last 16 months.  This post will be expanded and updated later this evening.  UPDATE In November 2025, PIA handled 62,474 passengers, which was the 14th record for the past 16 months. December's tally need only be 58,276 to reach the 800,000 mark for the first time. So this year, not only did it break 700,000 for the first time, there is the possibilty that it will also break 800,000!  If it does not reach 800,000 for the full year, it will be very close, and this means that passenger traffic will be up some 14 percent over 2024.  Passenger traffic will continue to grow in 2026, but not at the pace seen in 2025. Why? Because PIA's 2025 gains aren't likely to be matched in 2025. United Express increased...

A look at Allegiant Air's schedules show that Bloomington-Normal's Central Illinois Regional Airport is getting Phoenix-Mesa nonstops on Mondays and Fridays beginning February 13, 2026. The new service out of CIRA apparently does not appear to cannabilize Peoria's existing service. Starting February 17, PIA gets Tuesday flights in addition to Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. And business over the upcoming holiday periods requires nonstops daily from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1 and also Dec. 17-Jan. 5! - David P. Jordan

I shot these scenes from shortly after 4:00pm to shortly after 5:00pm on Sunday afternoon. This is probably the busiest period of the day for the Peoria International Airport. United Express added a fifth daily Peoria to Chicago-O'Hare roundtrip on August 20 and re-arranged its schedule. Allegiant Air has reduced weekly departures from 28 to 18 this month due to seasonal demand, but should ramp up schedules late this year.  CAPTION: Six airliner operations at the Peoria Int'l Airport late-afternoon Sunday, August 24, 2025. All arrivals and departures used Runway 31. American Eagle Flight 5397 from Charlotte (CRJ900) United Express Flight 4411 to Chicago-O'Hare (CRJ550) United Express Flight 5874 from Chicago-O'Hare (CRJ200) Allegiant Air Flight 1097 to St. Petersburg FL (Airbus A-319) American Eagle Flight 5494 to Dallas/Ft. Worth (CRJ900) American Eagle Flight 5187 to Charlotte (CRJ900) - David P. Jordan 

PIA is still on a role. WMBD Radio 1470 posted an article late this morning , detailing the great success Peoria International Airport has had in recent months. It handled 72,774 passengers in May 2025 and 78,892 in June. The latter is 20 percent higher than the same month in 2024! All airlines have added capacity - Allegiant Air by 10 percent, American Eagle by 20 and United Express by 67. Additional capacity and new service (Denver) reflects surging demand. Pricing is likely more reasonable, i. e. the airlines are not discouraging passengers from using small airports like PIA.  Director of Airports, Gene Olson, said the facility is attracting passengers from outside the Peoria region. I would interpret that as Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, Decatur and Springfield metro areas. As scheduled commercial airline service at those cities is quite limited these days, Peoria is benefitting from travelers who will drive some distance, but avoid Chicago or St. Louis if they can....

Videocapture shows a United Express CRJ200 on final approach to PIA on July 22, 2023 United Airlines' United Express regional partners will be offering five daily roundtrips between Peoria and Chicago-O'Hare on August 20! At present, four roundtrips are operated daily by SkyWest Airlines using 50-seat CRJ200 equipment. A fifth departure begans the evening of August 19 with a full schedule the next day. Three of the roundtrips, will be operated by CRJ550 equipment, which is a CRJ700 modified with a premium cabin configuration, but with 50 seats.  Two of the CRJ550 cycles will be operated by GoJet Airlines, the other by SkyWest Airlines. And it gets more interesting. The schedule prior to the expansion in frequency calls for the following -  Dep. 6:15am to Chicago-O'Hare CRJ200 Arr. 10:19am from Chicago-O'Hare CRJ200 Dep. 11:00am to Chicago-O'Hare CRJ200 Arr. 3:03pm from Chicago-O'Hare CRJ200 Dep. 1539pm to Chicago-O'Hare CRJ200 Arr. 4:43pm from Chicago-O'...

It is time for my annual update on local airline service.  A summer month is best for this update. I used July for 2024's update, and I have every reason to do so again this year. Barring last minute changes, the schedules and route map below are accurate. So let us delve into the present situation.  ALLEGIANT AIR Like last year, schedules for July 2025 show most flights operated with Airbus A320 equipment. They do not discern between 177-seat A320s or brand-new 186-seat A320SEOs. Smaller A319s, configured for 156 seats, are now only used on some Las Vegas and Punta Gorda flights. Brand new Boeing 737 Max 8-200 aircraft began appearing on St. Petersburg/Clearwater nonstops as early as February 2025 and are now also used on Orlando-Sanford nonstops. These aircraft are equipped with 190 seats.  Seasonal nonstops to Destin/Fort Walton Beach and year-round nonstops to Phoenix-Mesa and Punta Gorda have gained one weekly roundtrip each as compared to last year. So there are now...

The Peoria Int'l Airport handled 71,988 passengers in March 2025. That's 5 percent higher than the previous record - 68,447 in July 2019. WMBD TV-31 posted a story earlier this afternoon . Unlike most airports in downstate Illinois, Peoria airport officials provide passenger traffic data to the media. Usually, this is limited to records, but sometimes they report figures regardless. United Express' new service to Denver, which began March 30, is getting great loads, according to Gene Olson, Director of Airports. So I predict April will see excellent passenger figures whether a record or not. The article says passenger traffic has exceeded pre-COVID numbers since June 2024. Monthly records were broken in August, September, November and December. In January, another record was set, and February figures were short 500 of the record due to weather-related flight cancellations (perhaps Leap Year's extra day in 2024 was also a factor?). - David P. Jordan

Peoria International Airport can not only handle the world's biggest planes, but has handled them. All of them. But they are not regular visitors. If fact, their local appearance is rare.  United States Air Force Boeing E-4A "Nightwing," a military version of the 747, serves as an airborn command post, and are based at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska. These big jets first visited Peoria for practice flying ("touch-n-goes") in 1980, on January 15 when it blew out some of the runway landing lights, and again on August 12. I saw them in September 1989 and November 1990. I've heard reports that they've visited Peoria at least several times since.  The first appearance by a United States Air Force C-5A Galaxy probably occured in 1983. It happened twice. The first on April 8 to reportedly ship military hardware to Thailand. On October 9, one of the big jets loaded personnel and equipment from the 182nd ANG unit for exercises at Eglin Air Force Base ...

I checked United Airlines website this evening and noticed United Express (SkyWest Airlines) has increased service between Peoria and Chicago-O'Hare from three to four daily roundtrips. I assume this expansion was recent, perhaps this weekend.  I had feared the Denver service would mean reduction in Chicago-O'Hare service, but it seems the carrier has significantly increased capacity here.  Effective by Friday, American Eagle will be offering two daily roundtrips to Charlotte, three each to Chicago-O'Hare and Dallas/Ft. Worth, for a total of eight. United Express offers four daily roundtrips to Chicago-O'Hare and one to Denver, for a total of five. So the two regionals affiliated with "legacy" carriers now offer 13 daily roundtrips to four major hubs.  Allegiant Air offers anywhere from two to five turnarounds depending on the day of the week, linking Peoria with Las Vegas, Orlando-Sanford, Phoenix-Mesa, St. Petersburg/Clearwater and Punta Gorda year-round, De...

Daily, nonstop service between Peoria and Denver has returned! At 0918 hours, SkyWest Airlines dba United Express Flight No. 5430 departed for the Rocky Mountain metropolis on Runway 22.  In September 2023, Peoria International Airport was awarded Small Community Air Service Development (SCASD) funds to entice an airline to link that facility with a western hub. Denver (United), Houston (United), Phoenix (American) and Salt Lake City (Delta) were among considerations, but Denver always stood out as the most likely suitor, given Peoria's historical air service links to that city. HISTORY Ozark Air Lines obtained Peoria-Denver route authority in 1966. A stop at Sioux City, Iowa was required in each direction. Although the airline added Sioux City-Denver later that year, Peoria service would wait nearly a decade. Ozark even asked for nonstop route authority in 1971. Finally, on April 1, 1975 a single-daily roundtrip between Peoria, Sioux City and Denver began. On Seprember 1 of that y...