The Indianapolis International Airport (IND) keeps breaking records, year over year, and the second quarter 2019 passenger traffic data shows Indy is on track to raise the bar yet again. Through June 2019, the Indy airport has served a total of 4.7 million passengers, the highest passenger traffic in the first six months of any year in the airport’s history.
In the second quarter of 2019 alone, 2.5 million passengers flew through the Indy airport, with May setting a new record as the biggest passenger traffic month of May in IND history. In all, second quarter 2019 airline seat miles were up 4 percent.
“The increase in airline seat miles means more airlines are flying to further destinations than in 2018,” said Indianapolis Airport Authority Executive Director Mario Rodriguez. “Part of Indy’s growing value is the fact that you can get there from here – which includes across the Atlantic nonstop right into the business hub of Europe, and out to the West Coast, where we have some of the most expansive connectivity in the history of this airport. That growth means something and it’s showing in passenger behavior.”
Delta Air Lines made the biggest impact of existing airlines on second quarter numbers, compared to the second quarter of 2018. Seat capacity with Delta increased 5 percent over the same time last year. Delta also saw a 6 percent increase in total flights and a 24 percent increase in seat miles. This is, in part, due to the increased frequency of flights to Paris and Seattle compared to second quarter 2018.
Spirit Airlines, the newest airline to fly out of the Indy airport, launched its inaugural nonstop flight to Myrtle Beach from Indy in May 2019. In total, six new markets were fully served in the second quarter of 2019, which included Orlando, Las Vegas and Myrtle Beach (Spirit Airlines), Seattle and Paris (Delta Air Lines), and Oakland (Southwest Airlines). These markets were not fully served during the second quarter of 2018.
“More seat miles, more seat capacity and more destinations that were either unserved or underserved previously – that’s the kind of growth story that gets noticed and attracts airline partners to our community,” said Marsha Stone, IAA senior director of commercial enterprise. “That performance record is going to be front and center at the Routes Americas conference that will be held here in Indianapolis in February 2020.”
