Summary
- Nashville International Airport has broken its daily passenger record with 40,358 departing passengers screened on September 24th.
- The airport has experienced significant growth over the last decade, with passenger numbers doubling from 10.6 million in the 2013 fiscal year to 21.9 million in 2023.
- This trend of passenger recovery is not limited to Nashville, as other US airports like Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami International are also witnessing increased footfall.
With 2023 witnessing a swift passenger recovery, several airports are increasingly reporting encouraging figures. Nashville International Airport, too, has seen greater footfall in recent times and has now broken its daily passenger record. The development at Nashville is part of a greater trend not just in the US but globally, as the aviation industry gradually returns to normalcy.
More than 40,000 departing passengers
Nashville International Airport (BNA) has revealed that on September 24th, it screened 40,358 departing passengers. The airport’s recovery has been a steady trend. In May, BNA served more than 66,000 passengers in total each day (arrivals and departures), amounting to more than 2 million that month.
Traffic has doubled in the last decade, with 10.6 million passengers passing through its premises in the fiscal year 2013 and 21.9 million in 2023.
Keeping in mind its growth trajectory and future prospects, Nashville International Airport recently unveiled a new international arrivals facility. While the US domestic market continues to grow rapidly, flights from overseas are also returning. And Nashville is certainly a part of that trend. Doug Kreulen, President CEO of Nashville Airport Authority, commented,
“We really believe there’s a lot of business and leisure travelers out of Europe—central Europe, specifically, that want to come to Nashville. And we eventually want to get to Asia. Especially when you look at which foreign countries are investing in Tennessee.”
Not just Nashville!
It’s a similar story at other airports across the US that are welcoming significantly more passengers than the last couple of years. For instance, Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW) projects that at least 8 million more passengers will pass through its gates this year than last year. In fact, 2022 itself wasn’t that bad for DFW, when it handled just over 72 million passengers, a little less than its pre-pandemic peak figures.
Last month, it was reported that Miami International Airport (MIA) could see more than 52 million passengers by the end of this year. In 2022, it saw over 50 million passengers, breaking its previous record of 45.9 million set in 2019 by 10%.
Photo: EQRoy/Shutterstock
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is also showing a significant growth trend as far as international flights are concerned. It has 2,328 more scheduled international flights in 2023 than it did before the pandemic. This is primarily due to both new and existing airlines adding more non-stop flights at IAD.
Similar stories around the world
Non-US airports, too, are sharing similar stats. Earlier this year, airports in Saudi Arabia witnessed a 42% increase in passenger footfall in the first quarter due to travel rebound. It is also investing significantly in aviation infrastructure to compete with other aviation hubs in the Middle East.
This year’s summer season was particularly busy for several airports, including London Heathrow (LHR), which handled almost eight million passengers in July, a 21.4% year-on-year increase.
Photo: Ceri Breeze/Shutterstock
India’s aviation recovery has also been encouraging, and the second half of the year also began positively when domestic traffic increased by 25%. All eyes are now on international recovery, with several airports already recording more travelers than four years ago.
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