The last time the airport had more monthly passenger traffic was in August 1990 when 254,582 passengers traveled through the airport.
The August 2019 passenger traffic at Hancock was up 13.3 percent compared to August 2018.
It continues the “vigorous growth” that the airport is having in 2019, SRAA said. The facility has generated a year-to-date passenger increase of 12.8 percent compared to 2018, covering the period January to August.
SRAA also notes that passenger traffic in 2018 was up 11.6 percent compared to 2017.
“Many” factors have contributed to the increase in passenger traffic, but Jason Terreri, airport executive director, points to a “lesser-known” component of air-service development as the “main driver of this success story.”
“While [Hancock] has indeed seen new seasonal and year round routes take flight in the past 12 months, the bulk of our passenger growth stems from our airline partners simply using larger aircraft with more seats on their routes,” said Terreri.
As an example, American Airlines is forecasting an 82 percent increase in mainline aircraft seats at Hancock in October of this year compared to October 2018. The increases indicate a “busy” upcoming Thanksgiving and holiday season at SYR, SRAA contends.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com