It’s official: Sacramento International Airport (SMF) set all-time records for passenger traffic in 2017, making last year the busiest ever for the region’s commercial airport.
Sacramento International Airport served 10.9 million passengers in 2017, surpassing the previous record of 10.7 million set in 2007. That’s about 800,000 more passengers than were served in 2016.
Monthly travel also leapt to historic highs. September, October, November and December 2017 broke single-month records for passenger travel.
The airport ended 2017 with a robust annual growth rate of 7.8 percent over 2016.
Growth is expected to continue in 2018, as airlines have increased seat capacity and added new destinations.
New service beginning in 2018 includes:
- Saturday service to Cabo San Lucas and Sunday service to New Orleans, beginning in March on Southwest
- Daily service to St. Louis and Austin, beginning in April on Southwest
- Daily service to Orlando, beginning in May on Southwest
- Daily service to Vancouver, beginning in May on Air Canada
The airports’ record-breaking numbers reflect strong community support, demand for air travel helped by a surging local economy, and the airport’s successful efforts to reduce costs, said John Wheat, Director of Airports for the Sacramento County Dept. of Airports.
“When airlines announce new service out of Sacramento, our customers have responded and made those routes successful. This strengthens our competitive profile,” said Wheat. “We are very grateful to our passengers, our staff, our airline partners and our stakeholders for helping us reach this goal.”
