Next Leader of Evansville Airport Bullish on Growth Potential
(Rendering of improvements courtesy of Evansville Regional Airport.)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe incoming executive director of the Evansville Regional Airport believes recent growth figures are sustainable. Nate Hahn, the current director of operations and maintenance, will take over for the retiring Doug Joest at the end of the year. Passenger traffic in July was the highest it’s been in 13 years and the second highest in more than 20 years.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Hahn attributes the success — which includes 40 percent growth over the last four years — to the region’s improving economic picture. "We probably took even more of a hit (than other communities) with the economic downturn a decade ago and so, we’ve recovered and recovered even past where we were at before that. So, I think we’re going to be — I’m hoping 230,000, 230,000-plus enplanements this year. I think my first year here, we were close to 170,000," he said. "I can’t say we’ll continue to grow at a 40 percent rate over four years, but there’s room for growth." EVV’s passenger traffic year-to-date has increased more than 7 percent.
The airport is on the tail-end of more than $19 million in Indiana Regional Cities Initiative-supported renovations that Hahn says are expected to be complete in mid-November.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, incoming EVV executive director Nate Hahn attributed the success — which includes 40 percent growth over the last four years — to the region’s improving economic picture.