The Willard Airport Governance and Sustainable Air Service Task Force started in 2013 and released a strategic business plan in November of 2014 to guide future development and ensure the airport’s future viability. While enplanements (number of passengers) at Willard Airport slightly decreased (0.6%) from 2015 to 2016, enplanements have increased by 22.7% from 2015 to 2018. United Airlines adding three Willard-to-O’Hare flights a day and American Airlines doubling flights between Champaign-Urbana and Dallas contributed significantly to the increase. Although United Airlines has since canceled its flight service out of Willard, American Airlines expanded its service as United Airlines left.
Tables and charts below show the number of enplanements and flights of Willard Airport and some of the competing airports in the region.
Number of Enplanements (in thousands)
| Year | Willard | Bloomington | Peoria | Springfield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 120.106 | 234.738 | 170.264 | 35.158 |
| 2001 | 111.736 | 206.859 | 177.387 | 52.835 |
| 2002 | 112.246 | 199.672 | 192.308 | 102.917 |
| 2003 | 95.087 | 206.390 | 177.129 | 122.412 |
| 2004 | 115.911 | 219.286 | 221.466 | 11.1108 |
| 2005 | 129.948 | 227.489 | 253.743 | 81.165 |
| 2006 | 114.769 | 255.442 | 238.870 | 64.458 |
| 2007 | 108.667 | 262.191 | 269.726 | 60.556 |
| 2008 | 95.179 | 261.609 | 276.209 | 55.609 |
| 2009 | 85.792 | 242.834 | 240.745 | 52.921 |
| 2010 | 83.391 | 273.589 | 247.900 | 51.879 |
| 2011 | 81.100 | 284.116 | 247.536 | 54.190 |
| 2012 | 83.796 | 238.697 | 285.116 | 59.030 |
| 2013 | 82.996 | 210.730 | 289.098 | 69.051 |
| 2014 | 92.724 | 203.217 | 315.160 | 83.447 |
| 2015 | 87.584 | 185.452 | 315.312 | 89.060 |
| 2016 | 87.093 | 187.875 | 304.554 | 92.554 |
| 2017 | 97.502 | 162.516 | 309.617 | 89.728 |
| 2018 | 107.455 | 177.233 | 326.382 | 74.465 |
| 2019 | 93.947 | 190.338 | 309.59 | 65.759 |
Number of Flights
| Year | Willard | Bloomington | Peoria | Springfield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5,451 | 8,641 | 8,123 | 2,185 |
| 2001 | 5,139 | 7,681 | 8,892 | 3,550 |
| 2002 | 5,571 | 7,556 | 8,503 | 6,029 |
| 2003 | 4,552 | 6,332 | 7,332 | 5,732 |
| 2004 | 4,719 | 6,259 | 6,858 | 4,706 |
| 2005 | 5,194 | 5,626 | 7,628 | 3,463 |
| 2006 | 3,965 | 5,882 | 6,000 | 2,659 |
| 2007 | 3,376 | 5,839 | 6,635 | 2,338 |
| 2008 | 3,356 | 5,496 | 6,912 | 2,221 |
| 2009 | 2,985 | 5,016 | 6,397 | 1,969 |
| 2010 | 2,577 | 5,328 | 5,652 | 1,978 |
| 2011 | 2,253 | 5,170 | 5,768 | 1,848 |
| 2012 | 2,253 | 4,542 | 6,793 | 2,015 |
| 2013 | 2,229 | 3,911 | 6,682 | 1,885 |
| 2014 | 2,288 | 3,848 | 6,644 | 1,841 |
| 2015 | 2,215 | 3,523 | 6,461 | 1,893 |
| 2016 | 2,220 | 3,762 | 6,220 | 1,918 |
| 2017 | 2,670 | 3,339 | 6,482 | 1,902 |
| 2018 | 2,897 | 3,109 | 6,159 | 1,795 |
| 2019 | 2,569 | 2,737 | 5,382 | 1,570 |