Jet Addition Boost Sawyer Traffic

Sawyer International Airport staff thought adding regional jets would boost passenger traffic coming through the airport.

And last night at the Marquette County Board meeting, the optimism was clear.

The first quarter of the year was down more than 6% from 2009, which was itself a slow year.

But Sawyer recently became a 100% jet airport.

That changeover has resulted in a spike in traffic large enough to make up for the winter decline.

Airport manager Keith Kaspari says for the year to date, passenger traffic is up more than 6%, and he attributes that to the switch to jets.

Kaspari has said airfares are very strong right now, especially in and out of Detroit.

Sawyer also has a third daily flight to Detroit for July and August, which are normally the two busiest months of the year for air travel.