Tweed New Haven Airport in southern Connecticut lost commercial service for the first time in nearly 90 years in November 2020. The airport was left deserted after American Airlines, which had several flights per week through its American Eagle regional service, declared it was quitting.

Given the ear-splitting lull in travel, the news was not surprising. It was simply a portion of a bigger announcement from American that it would also be discontinuing its regional service at Stewart International Airport in New York and Williamsport Regional Airport in Pennsylvania.

Regional airports have endured the worst effects of the pandemic even in 2022, when travel has almost completely resumed. United made the announcement to discontinue service on 17 regional routes at the end of January, including the Louisiana's Alexandria International Airport. As of September, several minor airports around the US, including Toledo, Ohio; Ithaca, New York; Long Island, New York; and Dubuque, Iowa, had all received service reduction announcements from Delta, American, and United, either in full or in part.

Why does it feel like we are being shut off from it just as America is starting to explore its own backyard?

America's Regional Airports Are Disappearing. Who's to Blame?https://t.co/ef625KjsUT pic.twitter.com/Z0PCxlzHlH

— TripSavvy (@TripSavvy) December 13, 2022

Small Airports Have Significant Impact
Regional airlines are the top providers of air service to 29 states, or more than half of the nation, according to the most recent Regional Airline Association study.

These small bases serve secondary markets and "help regional economies by connecting communities to regional and national markets," according to the Department of Defense. Regional airports are often found in settlements of between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants and are designed to handle multi-engine propeller aircraft, as well as occasionally light jets.

But don't be fooled by their diminutive size; regional airports and airlines play a significant role in the connectivity of our nation. Regional airlines accounted for 41% of all scheduled departures last year, according to RAA estimates, while 68 percent of American airports only provided service to regional destinations.

Regional airlines made up 41% of all scheduled departures last year, and 68 % of American airports only provide service to regional destinations.

Despite these remarkable figures and a robust resurgence in travel in 2021, regional airline usage peaked at over 123 million passengers. It was the lowest regional passenger count in a decade, excluding 2020, and it fell by a staggering 42 million passengers from the decade high set in 2019. Henry Hartveldt, a travel expert and the creator of Atmosphere Research, predicts that at least 50 rural airports will be completely shut down this year.

How can a service that connects 90% of the nation's airports have such a steep decline? (For perspective, only one-third of the nation's airports are served by major airlines.)

America's Regional Airports Are Disappearing. Who's to Blame?https://t.co/ef625KjsUT pic.twitter.com/Z0PCxlzHlH

— TripSavvy (@TripSavvy) December 13, 2022

Motivating Factors for the Decline
Regional air service is declining as a result of a number of causes that have all culminated at the same time.

Since COVID, passenger numbers have just not been adequate, mostly because corporate travel has been reluctant to recover. In response to the lack of demand, regional carriers have cut back on service to focus on increasing passenger counts, increased the cost of regional flights, or left the market altogether to save money. These aren't any consumer-friendly fixes.

However, there is no getting around the fact that flying an aeroplane is expensive; to begin with, there are labour and fuel costs. Because there is less demand generally in smaller markets, smaller aircraft are needed, which means fewer seats. Although small airliners can typically hold between 30 and 76 passengers, depending on the plane, the average regional seating capacity has steadily climbed over the previous ten years to 66.

It's simpler to amortise expenditures across an aeroplane with 76 seats than an airliner with just 50 seats, according to Hartveldt. This is particularly crucial when you have greater personnel costs for flight attendants and pilots. "Regional airlines have been hardest hit by the pilot shortage that started with the COVID crisis. Larger airlines, like United, Southwest, and JetBlue, are actively recruiting more pilots to both replace those who have left or retired during the COVID issue and to have pilots to fly new aircraft to support their expansion."

There is controversy about whether there is a true pilot shortage or whether there aren't enough pilots willing to accept the lower compensation offered by regional airlines, according to a first officer pilot with a large legacy carrier who spoke to TripSavvy on the phone.

The pilot's starting pay at SkyWest eight years ago was only $21 per hour with a guarantee of 76 hours per month, and he frequently had to be on-call at the airport for up to eight hours, only slightly more than half of which were compensated. He had to call in ill because he wasn't given PTO for his wedding.

He continued, "Pay is not everything. And if the regionals want to maintain their strong retention rate, they will need to start adjusting their strategy seriously at that point.

Small Towns Pay the Highest Cost
When it comes to economic viability, growth, and opportunity, connectivity is essential. Loss of regional air service may make it difficult for a market to rebound. Losing connectivity can result in fewer jobs and business prospects, which over time can cause a decline in the local population and economy. This decreases the possibility that their regional air service will be reinstated.

Locals find it more challenging to travel or commute to work due to sporadic scheduling or the entire discontinuation of regional air service. The distance to the closest airport may have increased to several hours, adding time and costs that could make travel prohibitively expensive.

On a conceptual level, a lack of travel opportunities and connectivity limits one's ability to experience different parts of the nation or the world, and vice versa. This might turn out to be one of the costliest costs we pay at a time when America is more divided than ever.

constructing a runway for new airlines
Recall Tweed New Haven, the community airport that ceased to exist entirely in November 2020? Nearly two years later, they're making headlines once more, this time as the burgeoning east coast hub for Avelo Airlines, which started operating out of the airport in 2021.

In May 2021, Avelo debuted as a brand-new low-cost carrier that flies to underdeveloped secondary airports like California's Hollywood Burbank Airport and Sonoma County Airport. At the time of writing, they are the only airline operating out of Tweed New Haven, connecting the local area to Washington, D.C., Wilmington (North Carolina), West Palm Beach, Raleigh, Orlando, and Fort Myers as well as Chicago, Charleston, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Myrtle Beach, Nashville, Savannah, and Sarasota.

According to Avelo CEO Andrew Levy, "We tried to make air travel quicker, easier, and more cheap for Connecticut travellers last November." "We've accomplished that throughout the past year. We've changed Tweed from a sleepy one-destination airport to a bustling entry point to 14 destinations spread across seven states in just 12 short months.

It's an excellent illustration of making lemons into lemonade, but could it signal the beginning of a much-needed resurrection trend for regional aviation service? Although it may still be too early to tell, we are keeping a look out and crossing our fingers.