In the short term there isn't going to be a lot of growth, as suggested by the CEO's forecast of 2-3 per cent for 2012 which may even turn out to be optimistic.
Like most airports BRS is in thrall to the vicissitudes of the economy and no-one knows for sure which way it will turn; furthermore, there are many other potential national and international concerns that could have a major bearing on air travel.
As I said previously, BRS has so far ridden out the recession better, or perhaps less badly might be a more accurate term, than many regional airports which shows the strength of the underlying catchment. A look back at the stats also shows it was one of the last regional airports to be negatively affected by the national and world downturn.
The management and owners have a realistic belief that BRS will be one of the first to recover when the economy shows signs of sustained and substantial growth which, I suspect, is why they are pushing ahead with their infrastructure expansion plans.
Rumour has it, with some basis, that the airport was close to securing a number of carriers for 2012 and would have done in a more favourable economic climate; that is likely to apply to other airports as well.
When I mentioned last year's passenger numbers being carried on fewer flights than a similar number a few years ago I was suggesting a positive from an economic perspective - larger aircraft and/or higher loads.