Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport Statistics

Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is the primary commercial airport for Southwest Virginia, serving the Roanoke Valley and New River Valley. It offers connections to destinations across the United States through several partner airlines and plays a key role in supporting regional business, leisure and academic travel.

ROA handles more than 700,000 passengers annually.

• The airport recorded 826,716 passengers in 2025, the highest in the airport’s history, surpassing a 24-year-old record. This marked a 9.3% increase over 756,677 passengers in 2024.
• In 2019, prior to the pandemic, the airport served 719,707 passengers, making it the busiest year since 2000.
• Passenger traffic dropped to 291,718 in 2020 (a 59% decline) and rebounded to 475,380 in 2021.
• Recovery accelerated in 2022 with 551,834 passengers, followed by 684,808 in 2023, reaching about 95% of 2019 levels.

General aviation flights make up the majority of operations at the airport.

• In 2025, air carrier operations accounted for 19,324 operations.
• General aviation operations totaled 45,908.
• Military activity contributed to 996 operations.

ROA sees strong seasonal patterns with peak traffic in summer and fall.

• October was the busiest month in 2025 with 82,138 passengers, driven by university travel and fall tourism.
• May had 75,446 passengers, August had 74,383 and July reached 73,896 during the summer peak.
• June recorded 73,104 passengers.
• February was the slowest month with 51,679 passengers and January followed with 52,580 due to winter and post-holiday travel dips.

• Charlotte, NC (CLT) carried 116,920 passengers in 2025, making it the busiest route and providing American Airlines' primary hub connection.
• Atlanta, GA (ATL) served 104,470 passengers, maintaining its position as the second-busiest route through Delta's hub operations.
• Chicago O'Hare, IL (ORD) served 55,940 passengers, offering important Midwest connections through both American and United.
• Washington-Dulles, VA (IAD) handled 42,580 passengers, providing essential connectivity to United's hub and international connections.
• New York-LaGuardia, NY (LGA) carried 26,420 passengers, providing access to the New York metropolitan area for business and leisure travel.

Flight cancellations at ROA remain low, with rates typically around 1-2% in normal operating conditions, though 2024 and 2025 saw a slight increase.

• 2.88% of flights were cancelled in 2025, representing a modest increase from the previous year.
• The highest cancellation rate occurred in 2020, when 6.74% of flights were cancelled due to COVID-19 disruptions, reduced schedules, and unprecedented travel restrictions.
• The rate improved significantly to 1.47% in 2021 as operations began to normalize post-pandemic.
• In 2022, approximately 2.42% of flights were cancelled, reflecting industry-wide staffing challenges, weather events, and operational disruptions affecting the entire aviation sector.
• The cancellation rate improved to 1.65% in 2023 before rising slightly to 2.28% in 2024.

Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport generates $10-12 million in annual operating revenue, with total revenues (including grants and capital contributions) reaching $20-30 million.

• The Airport generated $14.1 million in operating revenue in FY2025 (year ending June 30, 2025), an increase of 23% from $11.5 million in FY2024.
• The airport generated $9.8 million in FY2019, which dropped slightly to $8.5 million in FY2020 and further to $6.6 million in FY2021 due to the pandemic's impact on air travel.
• Operating revenue was $8.86 million in FY2022 as the airport began recovering from pandemic impacts.
• Revenue rebounded to $10.42 million in FY2023 (up 17.6%).

• July 19, 1967: Piedmont Airlines Flight 22, bound for Roanoke, collided midair with a Cessna 310 near Hendersonville, North Carolina. All 82 people aboard the two aircraft were killed¹.
• October 16, 2001: Mesa Airlines, operating as US Airways Express Flight 5733, suffered a hard landing at ROA in an Embraer 145LR. The aircraft was substantially damaged, but none of the 33 people aboard were injured².
• September 24, 2025: CommuteAir, operating as United Express Flight 4339, overran Runway 34 at ROA and stopped in the EMAS. All 50 passengers and 3 crew were uninjured; Runway 16-34 remained closed until Oct. 6, 2025³.