Philadelphia International Airport scheduled flights are down 28 percent in July compared to July 2019.

It’s the second biggest decrease nationwide among the 30 largest airports, writes Emma Dooling and Ty West for Philadelphia Business Journal.

Nationally, the number of scheduled flights at the 200 largest airports is down 10.5 percent from July 2019.

Airport officials tie the flight shortfall to a reduction in the number of regional flights offered, as well as a pilot shortage and the delays in receiving new aircraft after older aircraft were retired during the pandemic.

Less regional routes from PHL actually led to American Airlines offering bus service to and from Lehigh Valley, Atlantic City, and Lancaster to connecting flights at PHL.

PHL has seen some growth.  Scheduled departures were up 7.3 percent in July over July of last year. The total number of seats on departing flights is up 9.8 percent from 2022.

Low-cost airlines like Frontier and Spirit have also increased their presence at PHL.

Some routes have also been restored at PHL, including service to Portland, Oregon; Panama City, Florida and Oakland, California.

“While we have not fully recovered from the pandemic, great things are happening at PHL,” read an airport statement.

Read more about scheduled flights out of Philadelphia International Airport at the Philadelphia Business Journal.

This CBS Philly video reports on American Airlines introduction of bus service from Atlantic City and Allentown.