Pittsburgh Airport Serves 8.3 Million Flyers in 2016
PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh International Airport has had three straight years of increasing passengers, finishing 2016 with 8.3 million flyers coming through the airport.
In total, traffic was up 2.2% with 8,309,754 travelers, the biggest year-over-year increase since 2010 and the busiest at the airport since 2008. During the holidays, traffic was up 2.5% in November and 3.4% in December, with 702,345 and 658,591 passengers, respectively.
“We’re pleased to see the positive trend in passenger traffic continue at Pittsburgh International Airport as new flights are embraced by our thriving region,” said Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis in a release. “The community is taking note of recent airport improvements and airlines and airport stakeholders on a national level also are responding. We know there’s more work to do but we feel we have turned a corner.”
In December, Standard & Poor Global Ratings upgraded the airport’s long-term and underlying ratings to A. Playing a part in the ratings increase was increasing traffic, as well as decreasing debt, a solid passenger share between American Airline, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines, and the airport’s “strong origin and destination nature, with 96% of total enplanements from the region.”
Pittsburgh International Airport has also added low-cost carriers in Allegiant Air and Frontier Airlines. Also added were regional flights from Southern Airways Express and OneJet. Among the destinations added by these carriers are Austin, Texas; Albany, N.Y.; Richmond, Va.; New Orleans and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“Looking ahead, it is predicted that the Airport Authority’s origin and destination passenger levels will continue to deliver steady financial performance that should not change the airport’s rating in the near future,” Standard & Poor said in its report.
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