Move will leave the building empty

Officials at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport said they have been informed by Delta Air Lines that the carrier intends to consolidate its CVG flight operations into Concourses A and B, moving out of the gates it currently uses in Concourse C. The airport said Delta will shift flights out of Concourse C gradually from October 2008 through January 2009, although it noted that Delta and its Comair subsidiary will “remain obligated for the Concourse C lease through 2025.” The Cincinnati Enquirer noted that the elimination of Delta flight operations will leave Concourse C unoccupied, and it quoted an airport spokesman as saying that the 23 restaurants, stores and other concessions in Concourse C will close. Delta has announced substantial schedule reductions at Cincinnati this fall; the airline’s fall schedule at CVG includes 298 daily departures to 93 destinations, a decrease of more than 26 percent from last fall. The newspaper quoted a Delta official as promising that Delta intends to keep Cincinnati as one of its primary hubs, “although some analysts are skeptical,” the newspaper noted.