Business View Magazine | May/June 2022

143 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 5 ROGUE VALLEY INTERNAT IONAL – MEDFORD A I RPORT maintenance of the airport to meet the safety standards required for continued certification in accordance with Federal Aviation Regulations. The Director is also a professional public relations agent for the Airport, its expansion, and its future. In that role, current Airport Director Jerry Brienza excels. He explains, “The airport is basically two-fold – the commercial air service and the economic development side. One day I’m wearing one hat, the next I’m wearing the other. Economic development throughout the pandemic has really thrived here – it’s surprising how that side of the airport business has been doing. As for air service, it was a bumpy road in 2021; like many other airports of our size, we continued to struggle with enplanements. Even January and into February of 2022 were not great numbers – although definitely up from the previous year. But March was the first time we broke a record for the airport since pre-pandemic times. Our March numbers were the highest the airport has ever seen for enplanements. If it continues on that pace , we may break an annual record because I believe our numbers were up 12 percent over last year.” Seven commercial carriers operate out of MFR –Alaska, American, Allegiant, Avelo, Delta, United, and aha! that just came on in October 2021. Brienza notes, “It’s interesting because throughout the pandemic, we actually gained four new commercial routes – San Diego, Orange County, Burbank (Avelo) and Reno (aha!). So although our passenger numbers and capacity were down, we gained destinations. I really believe people are ready to spread their wings and start taking vacations that they might have postponed early in the pandemic.” General aviation has a strong presence at Rogue Valley International – Medford Airport. Because it is so close to California and the area has lower personal property taxes, a lot of people that live in California find it cost-effective to base their planes at MFR. This summer, the Airport is starting a construction project to accommodate GA growth. “We’ll be building taxiways and putting utilities into a site that didn’t have this