PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh International Airport ended 2017 about 12,000 passengers shy of 9 million for an 8.2 percent increase – the largest year-over-year percentage increase in passengers in more than a decade.
At Friday’s monthly Airport Authority Board of Directors’ meeting, CEO Christina Cassotis presented the December airport statistics, highlighting several important achievements for the year including new domestic and international flights, increased seat capacity and more options for business and leisure travelers.
“Nine million is 1 million more passengers flying from Pittsburgh than we had four years ago,” Cassotis said. “We are on a great growth trajectory, and that is thanks to our partnerships with airlines and our community to make sure that we are meeting the needs of this region from a business and leisure perspective.”
New service added in the last 12 months by Spirit, WOW air, Delta and OneJet, as well as capacity growth to Miami and Chicago on American; Atlanta on Southwest and Delta; Ft. Myers and Dallas on Southwest; and Boston on Delta, JetBlue and American all contributed to increases in seats, flights and passengers.
Additionally, WOW air provides nonstop transatlantic service four times per week from Pittsburgh to Reykjavik; Allegiant continued weekend charter service to Cancun and Punta Cana, and Delta began weekend charter service to Cancun on December 23.
In the month of December, 744,075 passengers traveled through Pittsburgh International, which is a 13 percent increase over December 2016. For 2017, 8,988,016 passengers traveled, which is an 8.2 percent increase over 2016.
New routes announced for 2018 include Sarasota and Charleston starting in April on Allegiant; Kansas City, Palm Beach and Memphis starting in March on OneJet; Montreal starting in May on Air Canada; Seattle starting in September on Alaska; Cancun starting in June on Southwest, Puerto Plata starting in March on Apple Vacations and Cozumel and Grand Bahama starting in May and June on Vacation Express.
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. Over the past three years, the airport has nearly doubled its nonstop destinations to include 73 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.
PASSENGER TRAFFIC AT PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UP 8.2 PERCENT IN 2017
