MARTINSBURG — The Altoona-Blair County Airport’s second-highest passenger numbers since Contour Airlines’ service to Charlotte began in October 2024 were reported in July, airport manager Tracy Plessinger said.

During the airport authority’s meeting Wednesday, Plessinger said Contour carried 1,868 passengers to/from the airport in July. Passenger numbers were up 4% from June and up 166% from July 2024, he said.

Contour’s overall completion rate for July was 100%, Plessinger said, adding a lot more business travelers have started using the airport since the switch in service was made last year.

“That’s your bread and butter because they travel on a regular basis,” Plessinger said while giving his report to authority board members.

According to Plessinger, Avis/Budget sales were up 10% from June and up 18% year over year. July was the second-highest sales month since the airport began its Avis/Budget rental service in October 2022, Plessinger said.

“It was our second-best month ever, so that’s great,” he said, noting June 2023 holds the service’s record month for sales.

In June 2023, Avis/Budget sold an abundance of one-way rentals because several flights to the Philadelphia International Airport were canceled, which led to people driving there to catch connecting flights, Plessinger said.

Now that Contour’s 30-passenger jet is left at the Altoona-Blair County Airport overnight, Plessinger said there haven’t been nearly as many flight cancellations. Therefore, there isn’t much of a need for people to buy one-way rentals and drive to Charlotte, he said.

In his written report, Avis/Budget manager Nick Bechtel, who was off Wednesday and didn’t attend the meeting, stated the airport sold 238 total rentals in July.

“Our one-way rentals continue to be down slightly. However, local rentals increased by 103 year over year,” he wrote, noting the increase is a combination of flight-related rentals and people in the community renting cars at the airport.

“We are continuing to build a customer base of renters who are willing to drive further to get a rental due to the consistent level of service, quality and cleanliness of our vehicles,” Bechtel said in his report.

Plessinger said Coffee Coop’s sales for July were up 20% from June, while La Fiesta’s sales were down 12% and down 24% year over year.

“It was so hot and people were doing other things at the beach. They weren’t eating Mexican food,” Plessinger said of La Fiesta’s lower sales figures.

According to Plessinger, the airport’s July 1-2 inspection by Federal Aviation Administration officials “went very smoothly with only a few minor items noted.”

All of the airport’s previous issues with farming on the airfield that were noted last year have been resolved to the Federal Aviation Administration’s satisfaction, Plessinger said.

Plessinger said the airport is continuing to advertise on various local media formats and outlets but has not extended any of its existing advertising contracts.

“We are continuing to see a significant number of passengers who have never flown from AOO before, so our outreach seems to be having an effect. Also, we are seeing passengers drive greater distances to fly from AOO,” Plessinger wrote in his report.

The only new business item the board voted on was a resolution to approve two payments: $45,877.71 from the general fund account for airport operations and $118,589.30 for repairs to the airport’s terminal roof.

The board held an executive session after the meeting to discuss personnel matters.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.