San Antonio International Airport is on the way toward a record 10 million passengers getting onto and off of airplanes in 2018 following its 29th straight month of record breaking passenger traffic, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Just under 900,000 people boarded and deplaned last month, up 11% over passenger traffic in November of 2017.
The Airport says with busy travel in December already in the books, SAT looks likely to surpass the 10 million numbers. 9.2 million passengers had passed through the airport by the end of November.
“Our consecutive streak of record-breaking passenger numbers may appear to be routine,” said Russ Handy, Aviation Director for the City of San Antonio. “In reality, each of these milestone achievements is a result of a lot of amazing work by a dedicated team of professionals and a testament of the success of our strategic plan to both attain and retain air service with new routes, and continuously improve upon the overall airport experience our travelers enjoy.”
Several factors are credited for the renaissance of an airport which was once considered to be too small and outdated, and lacking in direct flights.
Major events like the Tricentennial and the super successful NCAA Final Four contributed to the heavy traffic. San Antonio also saw a major increase in convention business this year, due to the recently completed improvements in the convention center.
The strong local and national economies helped contribute to passenger numbers with increased business and leisure travel.But the key factor is a huge increase in new non stop flights in 2018, and that momentum is expected to continue next year, with American Airlines adding a non stop from SAT to New York JFK, which offers one-stop service to major European destinations.