Manhattan ? Manhattan Regional Airport saw significant success in 2010. Airport officials even characterized last year as “historic,” but they’re not getting ahead of themselves yet.

Their overarching goal for the near future is responsible growth of the airport and air service.

It’s easy to see why 2010 would be seen as historic, though. The airport had 39,126 commercial passenger enplanements, more than any other point in history. That is an increase of about 20,000 from 2009 when there were 19,225 commercial passenger enplanements.

The airport also increased its “airport catchment area,” retention. The catchment area is the region around the airport where airport officials believe passengers reside. A 2010 study on the catchment area showed that 538 people travel from the airport every day, which equals about 196,370 people annually. In 2006, about 8 percent of those passengers flew from Manhattan; in 2010, the airport retained about 20 percent (39,126) of those passengers.

In a presentation at the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce retreat earlier this month, Peter Van Kuren, airport director, said the goal for 2011 is to retain 25 percent, reaching 30 percent in 2012.

It was also a historic year because it was the first time that regional jet service went to two major hubs, O’Hare International Airport in Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. American Eagle Airline, a regional affiliate of American Airlines, started service in Manhattan in August 2009 with two daily, roundtrip flights to Dallas. A third flight to Dallas was announced about a year ago, and started service in April.

About two months ago, a fourth daily, roundtrip flight to Chicago was added.

“I believe it’s the fastest growth of a market that we know of, in terms of service,” Rich Jankovich, chairman of the airport advisory board, said.

Jankovich said four daily flights to major hubs have allowed people in the region to basically “travel anywhere in the world.” Jankovich said the flights have been valuable to Kansas State University in terms of recruiting for athletics, as well as for academic positions. He said the flights also improved the quality of life for military personnel at Fort Riley.

Van Kuren said the addition of another flight is uncertain, though. Van Kuren said it really depends on the airline and whether another flight could be profitable. He said it is too soon to tell how well the Chicago flight will do, but expects numbers to improve as spring break nears along with warmer weather.

However, Van Kuren also said that the airport would like to provide some type of lowerfare, leisure flights because “it’s the business traveler that’s benefitting from the airport the most.”

Van Kuren said “it’s great” that more and more people are using the airport, but airport officials are currently focused on meeting the air service demands of the region. He does anticipate more people using their “hometown airport” this year.

“We want to make sure we’re meeting the demands of the region in terms of an economic development tool and as a quality of life asset,” Van Kuren said.

To that end, Van Kuren said the airport wants to grow responsibly.

“We don’t want to burden the taxpayer by building things that aren’t needed,” Van Kuren said.

Van Kuren added that the airport doesn’t want to be playing “catch up” either. That’s where the terminal area master plan will play an important role. The study, which will be completed by the end of the year, will evaluate the future demand for air service and assess the current capacity of the airport. It will also provide a plan for the airport terminal building and other infrastructure improvements over the next 15 years. It will help find potential funding for any improvements, too.

“It will help us establish a good road map of where we should be placing things,” Jankovich said.

Airport officials are now looking to see whether certain areas of the terminal can be expanded. They also expect the master plan to help determine the possibility of business or retail activity in the general footprint of the airport on the K-18 corridor. Any sort of business activity would likely be influenced by the completion of the K-18 realignment.

Lyle Butler, president of the chamber of commerce, said he didn’t see traditional retail moving to the area around the airport immediately, but added that there would probably be opportunities for services such as restaurants, convenience stores or gas stations.

He said uncertainty about where the K-18 would actually be realigned has slowed development in the area, but he feels that could change soon.

Van Kuren and Jankovich said providing some sort of food service at the airport is a priority. Van Kuren said the airport wants to make sure any type of food vendor can turn a profit, though.

“We definitely want to get something out here this year, but we don’t want to force the issue,” VanKuren said. “If a vendor can’t make it it’s not going to happen.”