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Commissioners press staff on flight delays, turned flights and airline reliability; SCASDAP funds remain available
Summary
The commission reviewed January flight operations, passenger boardings and disruptions. Staff said January enplanements were up year over year, but commissioners pressed for more tracking of delayed, canceled or turned flights and for better airline communication to passengers.
Roswell — Commissioners on Feb. 4 focused attention on passenger operations after staff reported rising enplanements but persistent schedule disruptions and a string of delays tied to mechanical issues and larger airline operations.
Omar, operations staff, reported that "flight operations in January, we had 1,583," down from 2,421 in the prior January, which he attributed mainly to calendar differences in military activity. Airport staff also noted that 2024 enplanements totaled nearly 96,000 — an 8% increase over the prior year — and that the airport had run three daily flights for parts of January.
Commissioners and staff discussed specific disruptions: some flights were turned around en route from Dallas and others were delayed when an aircraft part did not arrive until later in the day, forcing passengers to wait on aircraft. Commissioners said passengers are rarely told why flights are disrupted and asked staff to track scheduled vs. actual departure times — including the difference between "gate push" and wheels‑up — and to record occurrences when flights do not complete a planned stop in Roswell.
Staff noted airline structure complicates local escalation; Envoy regional operations and American Airlines were mentioned in discussion. Commissioners recommended staff "click data" — gather and verify operational records — before elevating concerns to airline managers so they can provide precise examples when seeking airline responses.
Grants: staff said they are evaluating a state service development program and reviewing local match options. Bobby reported the SCASDAP grant balance still exists and "I believe it's 750,000," and staff said the program's local final match and revenue sources are under review.
Ending: Staff agreed to return next month with more detailed tracking on scheduled vs. actual times, counts of flights turned or canceled before arriving in Roswell, and a status update on SCASDAP/local match planning.
