San Antonio International Airport is flying high with its first year ever handling more than 10 million passengers, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"Its all about passengers needing or wanting to travel in and out of San Antonio for leisure or business, and we have seen all of these sectors grow," Airport Director Russ Handy said.
It wasn’t that long ago that there was talk that the airport was outmoded, and it was time to consider an entirely new airport, but SAT rose to the challenge in 2018.
10,044,411 people got onto or got off airplanes in 2018, that comes just one year when SAT experienced its first ever nine million passenger year in 2017.
“Growth in the Aviation Industry is somewhere between one and one and a half percent per year,” Handy said. “So to see growth of eleven percent in a year is a statement of how prosperous the region is becoming.”
The growth at the airport in 2018 is credited to three factors.
The airport itself was adding flights, airlines, and destinations at a record pace last year.
The Tricentennial, including the Men’s NCAA Final Four and several concerts, museum exhibitions, and other attractions, led to ramped up tourism interest in San Antonio last year.
And the strong local and national economies boosted travel generally, especially business travel, saw new highs in 2018, especially spurred by moderating fuel costs prompted by lower energy prices
.“In 2016, we were tasked to embark on an air service development plan that targeted 15% capacity growth in five years. We exceeded that goal in just two years. None of this could have been possible without the partnership between our community, airline partners and airport team all working together towards one goal,” said Brian Pratte, Chief Air Service Development Officer.