Passenger Traffic Continues to Climb at Pittsburgh International
Expanded Regional Service, New Nonstop Options Propel Passenger Growth in October
Passenger traffic at Pittsburgh International Airport continued to climb for the sixth straight month in October. Total passengers were up 1.8 percent for the month and up 2.1 percent year-to-date, as 6,948,818 passengers have traveled through the airport.
Passenger traffic for the month of October totaled 756,583 passengers. October 2016 shows a 1.8 percent increase above October 2015, which had 743,325 total passengers. Year-to-date total airport passenger traffic was up 2.1 percent.
“Increased passenger counts are matching the increased air service we’re seeing at Pittsburgh International Airport,” said Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis. “Passengers and airlines both are part of the positive momentum we’re seeing.”
Additional flights including Southern Airways Express to Harrisburg, an additional daily flight to Boston on JetBlue that began in October, and other new service, are contributing to more passengers at PIT.
Specifically, new regional air service is contributing to passenger gains in a big way. Since Pittsburgh was named a Focus City for Sun Air Express in October 2014, the airline - bought by Southern Airways earlier this year - has added more than 150 flights each week and currently serves nine destinations in PA, NY, MD and WV. Flights to DuBois, PA, on Southern are expected to begin in January. Southern Airways, an Essential Air Service provider, celebrated flying its 50,000th passenger last month.
Corporate regional carrier OneJet, which has also focused its operations in Pittsburgh, has also added 46 flights per week to five cities. In September, OneJet flew its 10,000th passenger. Today, OneJet announced the addition of new nonstops to Albany, NY and Richmond, VA, aimed at serving local business travelers. OneJet expects to announce service to additional cities from Pittsburgh in 2017.
International traffic at PIT is also expected to further increase during the summer 2017 season with new transatlantic service on WOW air to Reykjavik, Iceland and Condor to Frankfurt, Germany. The number of international passengers flying from Pittsburgh International is up 30.4 percent year-to-date.