New Orleans – Planning to fly somewhere soon? Don’t worry about getting to the airport early. Two hours before takeoff? Nah, a half hour ought to be plenty.
Before coronavirus scared away fliers, an average of 40,000 passengers passed through Louis Armstrong International (MSY) every day. Now, the number is in the hundreds, or fewer.
“It’s so surreal,” says Aviation Director Kevin Dolliole. “Every time I walk in, I think this couldn’t be real.”
Dolliole has seen the airport and its services shrink in a matter of weeks. Only a handful of airline employees remain at the ticket counters and concourse gates. The few flights that take off or arrive each day are mostly empty. The concourse reserved for international flights is closed completely.
And all the new, local businesses at the airport? Fleurty Girl, Leah’s Kitchen, NOLA Couture– all shuttered. Of the 52 shops and restaurants just 13 are open for business. Customers tend to be pilots and flight attendants.
The “new” MSY opened last November– a one billion dollar construction project that the city and region deemed necessary to handle an increasing number of flights to New Orleans. Between the “old” MSY and the “new” one, 2019 was a record-breaking year in terms of passengers– 13.6 million– and the prospect for future growth seemed to have nowhere to go but up.
But the last big event to draw fliers to New Orleans was this year’s Mardi Gras, in February. The next big draw, Jazz Fest, would have been early this month if it hadn’t been cancelled. All other fairs and festivals– any gathering of more than 10 people– have been cancelled in New Orleans for the rest of the year. Major conventions, with tens of thousands of participants, are cancelled as well.
For Dolliole, the real headache right now is figuring out how to pay the debt incurred in the airport’s construction. He says federal assistance will help.
So what is it like inside Louis Armstrong International today? Watch our story above.
