Blountville, TN—Despite the slow economy, the number of passengers using Tri-Cities Regional Airport during the first quarter of 2009 remained level with only a 0.6 percent reduction from the same period last year. This good news for the Airport resulted from a higher than anticipated 5.5 percent increase in passengers for March.

"Our airlines have been competitively pricing most of the seats and destinations from TRI as compared to our neighbors. People are finding out that this is a great time to travel," said Melissa Thomas, TCRA director of marketing.

While passenger travel remained steady, air cargo dropped more than 95 percent for the quarter due to cargo carrier DHL discontinuing US operations as of last December. "The loss of DHL was extremely disappointing as they provided daily air cargo service for the Tri-Cities Region," said Patrick Wilson, TCRA executive director. "The loss of DHL has a significant financial impact on the airport, and at this point, there is not a carrier that is likely to replace that service since most area cargo is now being shipped by truck. However, we will continue searching for a replacement as the region grows and the need for air cargo services increases."

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