PITTSBURGH – Led by new service on Delta and Spirit, capacity growth on American, JetBlue and Southwest, and a hearty helping of Thanksgiving travelers, total passenger traffic continues to climb at Pittsburgh International Airport to levels not seen since 2006.
Total passengers were up 9.3 percent for the month of October, and pending final reports from carriers, will likely increase by nearly 11 percent for the month of November. This is the airport’s busiest November since 2006.
“We’re happy to see that people are flying more often,” Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said during Friday’s monthly Board of Director’s meeting. “Every carrier operating here is reporting increased passengers, and that demonstrates a healthy market that is continuing to respond to all the new service.”
New twice daily service on Delta Air Lines to Boston, as well as a sixth daily flight on JetBlue, began in October, creating the highest number of flights to Boston ever offered from the airport. On November 9, Spirit Airlines launched daily nonstop service to Tampa and Ft. Myers, Fla. Capacity growth to Chicago on American and to Nashville on Southwest also contributed to overall growth in seats, flights and passengers.
Through October, 7,466,197 total passengers had traveled through PIT compared to 6,948,818 in October 2016. Through November, approximately 8.24 million had traveled, compared to 7.65 million in November 2016.
Additionally, general aviation operations were up 10.3 percent through October at Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin. The Board of Directors also approved six new hangar leases and renewals for 2018 at the facility.
With recent announcements of new service to Seattle on Alaska Airlines, Montreal on Air Canada, Sarasota-Bradenton on Elite Airways, and Kansas City, Memphis and Palm Beach on OneJet all beginning in 2018, Pittsburgh International Airport will serve 72 destinations nonstop on 17 carriers.
Final year-end passenger numbers for November and December are expected in January.
About Allegheny County Airport Authority:
Allegheny County Airport Authority, which manages Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County Airport, is committed to increasing air service, improving customer service and inspiring growth in the Pittsburgh region. Its 2016 Annual Report detailing growth and improved financial position can be found at flypittsburgh.com/AR16.
Pittsburgh International Airport serves more than 8 million passengers annually on 17 carriers. During the past three years, the airport has nearly doubled its nonstop destinations to include 72 airports. Air Transport World named Pittsburgh International its 2017 Airport of the Year. Travel + Leisure has again named Pittsburgh International a Top 10 Domestic Airport in 2017. In addition, TripAdvisor ranked Pittsburgh International Airport a Travelers’ Choice Favorite for Shopping in 2016.