January 15, 2008

Lehigh Valley International Airport Releases 2007 Passenger Report

Lehigh Valley, PA - Lehigh Valley International Airport (LVIA) passenger traffic increased 7.48 percent in 2007 over 2006, according to a summary of airline data released today by the Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority (LNAA). Year-to-date total passenger traffic for 2007 was 847,526 compared to 788,511 in 2006.

December traffic was down slightly compared to December 2006 as a result of a large number of weather-related flight cancellations. There were 64 weather related flight cancellations by all airlines serving LVIA in December caused by a series of early winter storms, with the exception of Allegiant Air which had no cancellations.

Allegiant Air continued its growth in December while most of the network airlines had declining traffic which is consistent with national trends. All major carriers serving LVIA, except Delta, carried fewer passengers than last December in their US domestic systems. Most noted weather and schedule reduction as the cause.

Passenger traffic growth is expected to slow during the first two quarters of 2008 based on the number of available seats to and from LVIA that have been scheduled by the airlines. Allegiant Air is expected to continue to grow in 2008, but at a slower pace than last year. This is in contrast with the stated plans of the major carriers to reduce domestic capacity system-wide, in response to sustained high fuel prices and signs of a weakening economy.

Air Cargo posted strong fourth quarter 2007 performance with DHL and FedEx Express contributing to an 8 percent increase over fourth quarter 2006. The addition of the Airbus A310 widebody aircraft service by FedEx in late August 2007 played a significant role in offsetting the impact of capacity reductions made in the wake of the ABX Air/DHL merger and subsequent realignment of regional hub flying with DHL carrier Astar Airlines that occurred in 2006.

The traffic report can be located on our website.

Lehigh Valley International Airport is located near Allentown, Pennsylvania and is served by Air Canada, Allegiant Air, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways. LVIA serves a twelve county area with a population base of 3.6 million people. The Airport is easily accessible from communities in eastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey areas. The airport is entirely funded by user fees; no property tax dollars are used for the airport's capital improvements or for its day-to-day operation.

For more information on LVIA, visit www.lvia.org.