California’s John Wayne Airport has been a vital part of the Orange County community for nearly 100 years. But now like airports across the US, John Wayne which provides more than 33,000 jobs to local workers and brings billions of dollars to the local economy admits that the coronavirus has taken a serious toll on airport operations, tenants and stakeholders.
Since 1 March the airport has experienced a 60% decrease in passenger traffic compared to 2019. In the last two weeks of March alone the airport saw a 90% decline in traffic. In light of this the airport has welcomed the news that the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)through the CARES Act will award approximately $10 billion in funds to airports. It has yet to be confirmed when John Wayne Airport will receive its share of the funds but they will be sued to support its continuing operations.
In a statement the airport said: “John Wayne Airport is an essential service and we still have hundreds of employees working every day. We cannot begin to express our gratitude for their commitment and dedication. We have an outstanding team here at John Wayne Airport and we will continue to rise to the challenge in the days, weeks and months to come.
“We don’t know when this will end, but it will end, and we will get through it together. As a community, our smart decisions now will sustain us through this difficult time.”
