Data shows more local travelers opt to drive to another airport instead of Rochester International

Randy Petersen, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
Updated ·4 min read

May 12—ROCHESTER — The percentage of local travelers opting to drive to another airport for the first leg of their journey, rather than flying out of Rochester International Airport, appears to have grown since 2019.

While a fourth daily direct flight from Rochester to Chicago has been added this month, the latest projections indicate 86% of potential business leaked to other airports, according to information provided to the Rochester City Council ahead of a Monday study session.

Data provided by Indiana-based Volaire Aviation Consulting show an increasing number of people were flying out of Rochester before the COVID-19 pandemic, but numbers have slipped in recent years.

The City Council is slated to discuss possible actions that could attract new local commercial service to the local airport as part of its 3:30 p.m. study session in council chambers of the city-county Government Center.

"Growing the destinations where RST flies to and from benefits the general community as a lower cost, easier access, transportation opportunity for business, leisure, or when family or friends are visiting Rochester," Rochester City Administrator Alison Zelms wrote in a report to the council ahead of Monday's meeting.

The benefits, she noted, can come at a cost, since the city has typically supported minimum-revenue guarantees to encourage the creation of additional routes. Funds have come through the city's economic development fund in the past, since federal rules don't allow the airport fund to cover the cost of developing new air service.

With a variety of industry challenges, from increasing airline costs to a pilot shortage, Monday's discussion seeks to determine whether the council would support action seeking new airline service for direct flights to and from Rochester.

Rochester currently offers seven direct flights a day — four to Chicago and three to Minneapolis — Saint Paul International Airport.

With an estimated 1,400 passengers lost to flights starting at the metro-area airport, Volaire Aviation Consulting estimates local passenger retention would increase from 14% to 33% if the airport added direct flights to other key locations, with an average of night daily departures. Retention is expected to continue to grow with even more nonstop destinations added.

Information expected to be presented Monday points to options for recruiting added flights to increase local commercial use of the airport.

Zelms points out that the number of travelers leaving from the airport plays a key role in current funding.

"Enplanements are the metric for how $1 million in annual Federal Aviation Administration operating funds are ensured for airport operations, and commercial service is the backbone for continuing millions of dollars of infrastructure investment funded primarily by the state and federal government, which also service cargo and general aviation activities that benefit our region," she stated in her report.

Since hitting a six-year high of 484 daily passengers in 2019, the Rochester airport saw numbers cut in half following the COVID-19 pandemic. It reported 229 daily passengers at the end of the third quarter of 2023.

A December report to the city's Airport Commission shows that the number of passengers flying out of the Rochester airport was up last year, compared to 2022 even though estimated passenger retention was down slightly.

No decisions are expected to be made Monday, but the council will be asked whether continued investment in attracting new air service is supported to ensure the long-term financial health of the airport.

"This presentation provides an opportunity for discussion and dialogue about continuing to deliver on a vision for Rochester International Airport to be self-sustaining long-term while providing exceptional service and direct connections to and from additional destinations around the U.S. and the world," Zelms wrote in the materials introducing the planned discussion.

Meetings scheduled to be held during the week of May 13 include:

Rochester

—City Council study session, 3:30 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE. The meeting will livestream at www.rochestermn.gov/meetings/council-meetings and be available on Spectrum cable channel 180 or 188.

—Charter Commission, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in room 104 of City Hall, 201 Fourth St. SE.

—Library Board, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the first floor meeting room of the Rochester Public Library, 101 Second St. SE.

Olmsted County

—Sheriff's Civil Service Commission, 8 a.m. Wednesday with the location to be posted at olmstedcounty.primegov.com/public/portal.

Rochester Public Schools

—School Board study session, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom of the Edison Building, 615 Seventh St. SW.