Eastern Iowa Airport nonstop flights to Detroit, Atlanta resume as air traffic gradually increases

As passengers gradually get more comfortable traveling, Eastern Iowa Airport is seeing increased passenger traffic and more nonstop routes returning to the airport.

Delta Air Lines' nonstop service to Detroit and Atlanta, which was suspended earlier in the pandemic, will resume Aug. 1. United Airlines' nonstop service to Denver will resume in mid-July.

Also by Aug. 1, the airport will have all its regular destinations in service again.

This comes as passenger traffic increased from 1,483 in April to 14,353 in May.

The airport went from screening 82 passengers per day in the last week of April to now screening 500 passengers per day, Airport Director Marty Lenss said.

It's still far from pre-pandemic numbers. Passengers are down 87 percent from May 2019, which Lenss attributed to the ongoing pause in business travel.

'Historically leisure travel returns quicker than business travel after catastrophic events,” Lenss said.

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