South Bend International Airport sees increase in travel

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind.-- Covid-19 hit the travel industry hard, including south bend international airport. Now, the airport is slowly bouncing back.

The South Bend International Airport CEO and Executive Director said they’re seeing an increase in flights departing and arriving South Bend. The Covid-19 pandemic caused four months of decreased flights at South Bend international. Airlines were still operating and a few people were flying, but services were minimal.

Recently, that has changed, Mike Daigle said in July they saw a 56 percent increase in flights from the previous month. For August, they’re scheduled to increase another 42 percent.

“Now, we’re seeing the increase starting to return and we’re also seeing an increase in customers coming back. So, as the customers come in and return, the airlines will continue to add capacity, Daigle said.

As people start to travel more, businesses inside the airport are slowly bringing their staff back. Daigle said that some businesses at the airport never fully closed down, like the South Bend Chocolate Company.

As the airport starts to see an increase in capacity, businesses are bringing back employees.

“The tenants, the airlines the rental car agencies, south bend chocolate our concessionaire have all been adding staff as the flights increase and the numbers of customers coming through the facility are here, Daigle said.