LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Larger flights and more destinations mean Lexington's Blue Grass Airport is busier that it has ever been, which is presenting a new set of challenges.
The airport announced last week that it had reached a record for the busiest month in its history in June. A total of 157,715 passengers arrived or departed from the Central Kentucky airport, beating out the previous record by 13%, achieved in June 2019.
The airport credits the increased travel to a number of recently added direct flights.
The added traffic, however, has been a challenge to accommodate.
At certain peak travel times, not even the airport's overflow parking lot has been able to keep up with the amount of visitors.
"It can be hard to find parking, sometimes you gotta do four to five laps just to find a parking spot, and sometimes you can't find one and you just gotta wait for someone to get out," said one visitor at the airport on Friday.
Blue Grass Airport director Eric Frankl wants to see the airport's infrastructure adapt to the growing demand.
"One of the things I know that Lexingtonians really appreciate is the convenience of our airport, so we really want to make sure we're doing that in the future to continue to have an airport that people want to fly out of," Frankl said.
The airport recently completed a Master Plan to look ahead to the next two decades of progress at the airport, and is now working on a terminal-specific plan to address the issues of parking and terminal space.
"We want to relocate our road and add some additional parking and hopefully have those customer amenities that people hope for and want out of Lexington," Frankl said.
A recent FAA forecast cited by the airport in a recent Master Plan session shows the airport could break 1 million annual enplanements as early as 2027.
With that level of growth, passengers are split on keeping the small airport feel of the airport, while also welcoming the increased service that comes with increased demand.
"I think there's a happy medium, I mean—I think if you don't overwhelm it with flights coming it and out, I think it will still be great," said Rhonda Brown, a frequent passenger at Blue Grass.
It's a balance that Frankl would like to see the airport keep, as well.
"We're trying to, again, make sure it's large enough to meet the demand but still convenient for the passengers," he said.
In the most recent legislative session, legislators added $5 million in funding for the airport, which Frankl said could help the airport begin some of the infrastructure improvement projects.
In the meantime, the airport plans to continue to celebrate its ongoing growth, while addressing the growing pains that come along with it on a short-term and long-term basis.
