{"id":30680,"date":"2025-01-23T21:28:34","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T21:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/?p=30680"},"modified":"2025-01-23T21:28:38","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T21:28:38","slug":"numerous-u-s-airports-saw-record-passenger-traffic-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/national-news\/numerous-u-s-airports-saw-record-passenger-traffic-in-2024\/%20","title":{"rendered":"Numerous U.S. Airports Saw Record Passenger Traffic in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"\">Memphis International Airport (MEM), Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Southwest Florida International Airport are among U.S. airports recording record passenger numbers in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">MEM experienced a milestone year, highlighted by a record number of 4.9 million origin and destination (O&amp;D) passengers traveling through the airport. These numbers reflected an increase of nearly 81,000 passengers compared to 2023.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">RDU finished strong in 2024, with more than 1.3 million guests traveling in the month of December, a 12.4 percent increase over Dec. 2023. \u201cWith another record-breaking year behind us at RDU, we are looking forward to welcoming more airlines and international routes than ever before in 2025,\u201d said Michael Landguth, president and CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. \u201cThe new year is starting off strong as we prepare to launch new destinations, add new airline partners and connect the Research Triangle region with even more travel opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The airport ended the year with 15.5 million travelers compared to 14.5 million in 2023, an increase of 6.5 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"133\" src=\"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/SW-Internationaledit-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30681\" style=\"width:421px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/SW-Internationaledit-1.jpg 400w, https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/SW-Internationaledit-1-300x100.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"\">During December, 1,121,793 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers, an increase of 2.5 percent compared to December 2023. Year-to-date, passenger traffic was up 9.5 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">\u201cDecember 2024 was the busiest December in the 42-year history of the airport, and we finished the year with a record-breaking 11,028,182 passengers, which was a 6.6 percent increase compared to the previous record set in 2022,\u201d said Steven Hennigan, C.M., A.C.E., executive director and CEO of the Lee County Port Authority. \u201cWe appreciate all our employees, airlines and airport business partners who support the traveling public every day and thank our passengers for continuing to choose RSW as their preferred airport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Although not an all-time record, Pittsburgh International Airport saw 2024 as the airport\u2019s biggest year in almost two decades. PIT closed out the year with 9.95 million total passengers. It not only surpassed the airport\u2019s pre-pandemic high of 9.8 million set in 2019, but it\u2019s also the most passengers PIT has seen in a single year since 2006 when US Airways was still the airport\u2019s dominant airline.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Photo-Apr-20-8-48-50-AM-edit-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30682\" style=\"width:270px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Photo-Apr-20-8-48-50-AM-edit-2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Photo-Apr-20-8-48-50-AM-edit-2-300x188.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority (MSCAA) presented an overview of 2024 milestones at its Board of Commissioners meeting on January 16. The review was highlighted in a video that can be found at <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/pmWDSo14NGo\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/pmWDSo14NGo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">2024 highlights and statistics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Total passengers: 4,878,919 (increase of 1.69 percent vs. 2023)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Total scheduled flights: 48,848 (increase of 283 compared to 2023)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Total cargo handled: 8.28 billion pounds (decrease of 3.27 percent compared to 2022, though MEM remained the busiest cargo airport in North America and second busiest in the world).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">MEM on the Move: MEM began the largest construction project in its history, which will lead to the replacement of the outer drive and the modernization of the ticketing and baggage areas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Parking enhancements: 828 parking spaces added, new parking system implemented, including real-time level count signage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">\u201cMEM was definitely on the move in 2024,\u201d said Terry Blue, MSCAA President and CEO. \u201cWe experienced another record-setting year of passenger traffic, began our terminal modernization project, and transitioned to a new enhanced parking system. We will continue this momentum into 2025 with the goal of making MEM the airport of choice for the Mid-South.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Looking ahead to 2025 (projects on the horizon):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">MEM on the Move: Outer drive replacement project to begin, ride-share pickup to move to baggage level<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Parking system expansion and enhancements, including real-time online parking updates and parking guidance system to indicate vacant spaces<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Charles W. Baker Airport new terminal construction<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">New flights: Spirit service to New Orleans (February), Spirit service to Fort Lauderdale (March), Southwest service to Nashville (April) and Delta service to Austin (May).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Mem on the move&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/flymemphis.com\/mem-on-the-move\/\">https:\/\/flymemphis.com\/mem-on-the-move\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncdot.gov\/divisions\/aviation\/pages\/state-of-aviation.aspx\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"670\" height=\"864\" src=\"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/unnamed-2025-01-03T181414.031-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30683\" style=\"width:198px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/unnamed-2025-01-03T181414.031-1.jpg 670w, https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/unnamed-2025-01-03T181414.031-1-233x300.jpg 233w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 670px) 100vw, 670px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"\">In North Carolina, the N.C. Department of Transportation Division of Aviation released its 2025 State of Aviation report this month, detailing the economic impact North Carolina\u2019s 72 publicly owned airports have on the communities they serve. The report shows RDU has an annual impact of $24.1 billion on the economy and supports 139,745 direct and indirect jobs. RDU also generates $9.8 billion in personal income and $1.3 billion in tax revenue for government agencies. The airport contributes to the economy through spending by travelers, airlines, concessionaires and rental car companies, along with capital project construction, facilities maintenance and operational services. The report, produced every two years, helps guide investment in aviation infrastructure and provides a tool for recruiting aviation and aerospace industry companies and investment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Air Service: Flights to warm weather destinations are in demand at RDU. JetBlue added a second daily flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for March and April and Spirit is adding more flights to Ft. Lauderdale. Spirit increased the frequency of its Ft. Lauderdale route from four times a week to nine times a week in January, and from four times a week to seven times a week in February. Avelo will launch two international routes from RDU next month with nonstop service to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Both Avelo routes will fly on Wednesdays and Saturdays from mid-November through September.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Memphis International Airport (MEM), Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Southwest Florida International Airport are among U.S. airports recording record passenger numbers in 2024. MEM experienced a milestone year, highlighted by a record number of 4.9 million origin and destination (O&amp;D) passengers traveling through the airport. These numbers reflected an increase of nearly 81,000 passengers compared to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30684,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30680\/revisions\/30684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}