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Carl Olson                                                                               

Phone (309) 663-7384                                                            

Central Illinois Regional Airport                                                   

April Passenger Traffic a New Record for Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal

More Passengers traveled in and out of CIRA in April 2010 than any April on record  

BLOOMINGTON, IL (Wednesday, May 19, 2010) A bright sign that travelers in Central Illinois are feeling confident and that the regional economy is returning to a positive trend, the Central Illinois Regional Airport hosted 16.6% more travelers through the airport in April 2010 than last April.  The airport released its monthly passenger numbers showing the large increase month over month that has been building since January of this year.  A total of 44,340 passengers flew in and out of CIRA in April bringing the number to 166,091 total passengers for the first four months of 2010, a 6.2% increase over the same time period in 2009.

“To beat last year’s numbers substantially is gratifying but to realize that this April surpasses all previous Aprils is truly remarkable given that 2008 was our busiest overall year ever.” said Paul Harmon, Chairman of the Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority, the governing body of the Central Illinois Regional Airport . “CIRA continues to lead Central Illinois with the lowest average fares in the region, according to USDOT data, and our April passenger numbers demonstrate the attractiveness of those fares to our travelers.”

Carl Olson, CIRA’s Executive Director, agrees that CIRA’s low fares and convenience are helping bring passengers back to CIRA now that air travel is rebounding in the region.

“This is extremely encouraging news.” according to Olson, “The sizeable increase in April indicates that both our business and leisure travelers are ready to travel more frequently again. The additional flights on American to Chicago O’Hare and Delta to Detroit that began in April gave the traveling community more options and availability and they responded by choosing CIRA.”  

Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal carried the most passengers in and out of Central Illinois in 2009, further evidence that CIRA is Central Illinois ’ easy, low cost way to fly. With hundreds of destinations available on the world’s premier airlines, free parking and the easiest access in the region, CIRA remains a favorite for Central Illinois travelers.  For more info rmation please visit www.cira.com.  Find the airport on Facebook under Central Illinois Regional Airport . ##