Originally published in 2002
Killeen Municipal Airport had 99,815 enplanements in 2000, up 10.4 percent from 90,418 enplanements in 1999, according to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report released on October 19, 2001. Killeen Municipal moved up from a ranking of 224 out of 422 nationwide airports to 217 of 419.
The airport has seen constant growth over the past decade and has surpassed comparable local airports. Killeen Aviation Director Don Christian links the growth to the city population boom from I 990 to 2000 and increased military activity at Fort Hood. More enplanements make the airport eligible for more federal grant money for projects such as the joint-use airport at Robert Gray Army Airfield. Consequently, more passengers means more money in the airport account that is used to match federal grants. Each passenger is charged $4.50 as a passenger facility fee for each ticket bought which is then set aside for airport projects.
The September 11th terrorist attacks might negatively impact enplanements for 2001, according to Christian. However, Continental Express General Manager, Yvonne Newman disagrees. She believes that the airport will see an increase in traffic as a direct result of the terrorist attacks, because Killeen Municipal is now picking up Waco-area traffic since Continental pulled out of Waco. Also, the war in Afghanistan has increased or influenced more flying among business workers and military family members.
Certainly, the continuation of increased enplanements paves the way for more facility improvements at Killeen Municipal Airport.