ALPENA — Devastating.

That is the word Alpena County Regional Airport Manager Steve Smigelski used to describe the decline in travelers the airport has seen since the spread of COVID-19 forced a near-halt to international and domestic travel.

Quarantines, the shutdown of businesses, job losses, and economic uncertainty related to the pandemic also has people choosing not to travel.

Smigelski is hopeful, however, that the federal government will help relieve some of the stress essential service airports in rural areas of the country are feeling.

As of Thursday, no cases were reported in Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, or Alcona counties, even as cases statewide neared 11,000 and deaths topped 400.

Smigelski said he is expecting to soon learn the final number of paid passengers the airport served in March, but, from his observations, he is expecting very poor enplanement totals.

In March last year, the airport recorded 1,034 enplanements, up from 779 in March 2018.

This March, “I would be surprised if we reach 100,” Smigelski said. “The airport is open and staffed, but people aren’t traveling. And who can blame them?”

For the last several years, numbers from air service provider SkyWest have climbed significantly. When the airport reaches 10,000 enplanements in a year, it receives a $1 million subsidy from the Federal Aviation Administration to use toward needed projects or equipment purchases. Last year, the airport had about 13,000 enplanements.

This year began with strong numbers, with 1,907 enplanements through January and February.

But those numbers have taken a nose-dive since.

It is hard to project when travel will pick up and if the airport can rebound enough to meet its 10,000-enplanement goal, Smigelski said. Seeing the number of passengers return to normal will depend on whether Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extends her order closing all but essential businesses.

“It will really all depend on if there is more time added to the lockdown beyond April 30, and then it is hard to tell when people will want to begin traveling,” he said. “I hope we would could be back to our previous load factors by the end of May or early June, but there is no real way of knowing for sure. If we lose 1,000 enplanements this month, and another 1,000 in April, we can still reach 10,000 if we bounce back to how we were, I think.”

Smigelski said the federal government has allocated $10 billion to airlines to help them get through the financial challenges they are experiencing. Discussions are happening in Washington about helping airports, as well.

“Nothing has been settled on yet, but a portion of that $10 billion could go to airports,” Smigelski said. “That hasn’t been finalized, yet, though.”

Closing the airport is not an option, Smigelski said, as cargo planes and medical transfer flights are still taking place. He said even SkyWest is holding to its schedule, despite not having many passengers.

“SkyWest has to do its route because of the contract, but it has been slow,” Smigelski said. “There are times when the jet has left Alpena with no passengers on it and only a handful when it returns.”

Airport staff have used the slow period to make sure the new terminal is safe for those who do fly and to do everything possible to make sure customers, employees, and Transportation Security Admnistration workers are protected from COVID-19. Smigelski said things are always being cleaned and sterilized frequently.

“We are always wiping down counters, door handles, screens and buttons on touch screens, and everything we can,” he said. “We are still working and doing what is expected and required of us.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.