Demand for service in Champaign County, and at Willard Airport, has fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. A new passenger study, completed with data from 2023, shows that the County generates almost 2,700 passengers per day. But fewer passengers are using Willard Airport because there simply aren’t enough flights.
While virtually all flights between Willard and both Chicago O’Hare and Dallas/Ft. Worth on American are now operated with larger, 70-seat jets, the Airport retains just 14% of passengers flying to and from the Champaign-Urbana region.
Willard Airport’s passenger retention peaked in 2017 at 22% of the area’s passengers but fell to 20% in 2019 and is now at just 14% as of 2023. Indianapolis is the biggest beneficiary of the decline in Willard Airport retention, with its share of Champaign County area passengers above 28%, up from 21% in 2019.
It might surprise some to learn that Bloomington/Normal is losing CMI area passengers, with a share of just 5%, down from almost 9% in 2019.
Chicago airports still capture the largest proportion of Willard Airport’s area passengers, with a combined 47%, up from 39% in 2019 – mainly on Midway’s increased share of 11%, up from 9% in the previous study in 2019.
Since 2013, the Champaign/Urbana area has seen passengers increase from about 1,300 per day to more than 2,700 per day – doubling the number of people who are traveling.
