Garden City Airport See Numbers Soar

A new airline route helped the Garden City Regional Airport serve the number of passengers required to secure federal funding earlier than in the past.

Airport officials say 10,454 passengers flew into or out of the airport as of the end of August. The airport needs to record at least 10,000 such transactions in a year to secure $1 million in federal funding for airport improvement projects.

Rachelle Powell, the city’s aviation director, attributed the improved passenger numbers to a decision in April to replace flights to Denver with flights to Dallas-Fort Worth.

Reaching the 10,000 mark has taken longer in the past. In 2011, the airport had 11,670 people flying in and out of the airport; 10,142 in 2010; and 10,014 in 2009.