PITTSBURGH — Through the peak summer travel months, passenger traffic at Pittsburgh International Airport continued to grow at a rate of more than 6 percent each month, bolstered by increases in available seats, capacity growth and new flights to key business and leisure markets.
Passenger traffic was up 6.6 percent in July and 6.3 percent in August. Through August, total traffic at the airport was up 8.8 percent year-to-date, as 6,421,062 people had flown through PIT compared with 5,901,234 in 2017.
“We had our best summer in more than a decade in terms of total passengers and nonstop options, both domestic and international,” said Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis. “Airlines continue to add flights and seats in key markets like the West Coast and the Northeast.”
In July, Delta began new daily service to Salt Lake City with important connections to dozens of West Coast destinations including San Jose, Sacramento and Portland.
In August, China Eastern operated two charter flights from Shanghai to Pittsburgh through a new partnership between the region and Caissa Touristic.
Additionally in August, Frontier began new service to San Diego. New service added in the past 12 months by Air Canada, Allegiant, and Spirit, as well as a second daily flight to San Francisco and larger aircraft to Washington, DC on United, all contributed to the growth in seats and flights during July and August.
Passenger growth is projected through the fall and early 2019 as carriers make additional international and domestic expansions from PIT:
- Beginning November 17, Frontier Airlines will operate twice-weekly seasonal service to West Palm Beach, Florida.
- Vacation Express will expand nonstop Punta Cana flights and packages beginning in mid-January and running through late April.
- Southwest will start nonstop Saturday-only service to Cancun a month earlier in 2019 (March 9) than they did this year (June 9).
- British Airways will begin year-round nonstop service to London Heathrow on April 2, 2019. Flights will be on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
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 2017 Annual Report detailing growth and improved financial position can be found at flypittsburgh.com/AR17.
Pittsburgh International Airport serves nearly 9 million passengers annually on 17 carriers. Air Transport World named Pittsburgh International its 2017 Airport of the Year. Travel + Leisure and J.D. Power have again named Pittsburgh International a Top 10 Domestic Airport in 2018.