Summary
- San Diego International Airport has finally seen a post-pandemic milestone with an increase in passenger volumes compared to 2019, indicating a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The airport, while trailing behind pre-pandemic numbers for the last three years, reached a significant milestone in October with 6,000 more people traveling compared to the same month in 2019.
- Expectations for the Thanksgiving season at San Diego International Airport are high, with an estimated 84,000 passengers arriving and departing daily during the busy holiday travel week.
San Diego International Airport (SAN) finally reached a post-pandemic milestone in October 2023, recording an increase in passenger volumes versus the same period in 2019. Additionally, the airport has had a 3% increase in passengers in 2023 compared to last year.
Recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic
While many larger airports globally have already rebounded fully from the COVID-19 pandemic and have resumed passenger volume growth, some smaller airports have not had the same recovery. This is the case of San Diego International, the third-largest airport in California by weekly departures and seats available (behind the behemoths Los Angeles –LAX– and San Francisco –SFO–).
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The airport has been trailing versus pre-pandemic numbers for the last three years. However, it seems the worst is behind. During October, the airport reached a post-pandemic milestone when approximately 6,000 more people traveled through the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) checkpoints compared to the same month in 2019.
Expecting a strong Thanksgiving season
This long Thanksgiving weekend is set to be one of the busiest in US aviation history. To put some numbers to what the aviation industry is expecting this holiday season:
- Avelo Airlines is gearing up for its busiest holiday season yet
- The TSA is seeing an 8.6% increase in passenger traffic for the season versus last year
- American Airlines expects almost eight million passengers this Thanksgiving
- Delta Air Lines is expecting more than 500,000 passengers a day.
There are many more stories surrounding this Thanksgiving travel season. For instance, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority estimates as many as 84,000 passengers will arrive and depart each day during the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel week. The Tuesday and Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving Day and the Sunday and Monday following are historically the busiest travel days of the Thanksgiving holiday week.
According to data from Cirium, San Diego expects to have an average of 263 departures between November 21 and 26. The largest number of scheduled flights will come on Sunday, with 300 (while the fewest on Thursday 23, with 163).
Photo: DBSOCAL | Shutterstock.
The Californian city will be mostly served to domestic destinations across the United States. Some of the main routes to be operated from San Diego include Las Vegas (105 flights in this period or between 14 and 19 per day); San Francisco (99 fights); San José (95 flights); Sacramento (92 flights); and Denver (91 flights).
The airport is also served to ten international destinations: Cancun, London Heathrow, Munich, Tokyo Narita, Puerto Vallarta, San José del Cabo, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. Vancouver has the largest amount of flights this Thanksgiving holiday season, with 18.
Who flies to and from San Diego International?
A total of 16 airlines operate flights to and from San Diego. Southwest Airlines is by far the largest operator in the airport, with 36.2% of all seats available. It is followed by Alaska Airlines (15.1%), United Airlines (13.3), and Delta (12.2). Non-US companies flying to this airport are Air Canada, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, and WestJet.
Have you recently been at San Diego International Airport? Let us know in the comments below.