Airports
Reduced airline traffic at SFO opens door for more bizav ops
The major reductions in airline passenger traffic at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) since September 11 may actually benefit business aviation ac

The major reductions in airline passenger traffic at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) since September 11 may actually benefit business aviation activities at the airport, as well as SkyWest Airlines, the sole regional airline operation remaining at the large West Coast airport.

Until recently, SFO was riding the dot-com boom, with record traffic and plans for expansion well under way. In fact, about a year ago the airport opened a new multi-billion-dollar international terminal. But the combination of terrorism and the recession–stemming largely from the bursting of the high-tech bubble–has made for reductions in passenger boardings and airline movements. According to an airport spokesman, SFO handled 41 million passengers in 2000, but September 11 is expected to drag the 2001 tally down to about 37.58 million, an 8-percent decline.