Not all the excitement at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) revolves around the proposed Boom Supersonic project that would energize the new aviation megasite at the airport.
The Piedmont Triad Airport Authority – the board that runs the airport – is also focused on passenger numbers and brand new stats show that things at PTIA in that regard are certainly heading in the right direction.
The stats were released by the Airport Authority right after the board’s last meeting of the year, held on Tuesday, Dec.14.
According to the latest stats, the number of passengers flying in and out of PTIA was up 157 percent in November 2021 when compared to November 2020, and up 58 percent year-to-date.
That’s a great sign, but passenger traffic at PTIA still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. Passenger traffic for November 2021 was down 22 percent when compared to November 2019 – five months before COVID-19 brought passenger traffic at the airport almost to a complete halt.
People buy a lot of things online during pandemics, so it’s no surprise that cargo shipments in and out of PTIA have been a bright spot during the pandemic. The amount of cargo flying in and out of the airport was up 34 percent in November 2021 over November 2020, and up 69 percent year-to-date. Even compared to November of 2019, the amount of cargo coming into PTIA in November 2021 was up 40 percent.
PTIA officials also track the number of planned available passenger seats on future flights and, for January 2022, the number of total departing seats for January will be 90,998 – up 124 percent over January 2021.
That number is down 17 percent when compared to January 2019.
Also, the total departing seats for February 2022 is 86,720 – up 147 percent over February 2021, but down 14 percent when compared to February 2019.
