Passenger growth at the San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is the highest it has been in nearly 16 years, officials said Friday. The airport hosted 881,896 passengers last month, 17 percent more than in August 2017.
To date this year, the airport is 10.4 percent ahead of its passenger number from last year and could hit or surpass a record 10 million passengers in 2018, the City’s Aviation Director Russ Handy stated in a news release.
Eleven new flights – from airlines such as American, Frontier, and Southwest – began taking off and landing there in August alone.
Both domestic and international flights have increased this year, according to a City news release. “The continued growth at SAT reflects an ongoing trend of progress at the airport that has now stretched to more than two years of consecutive monthly growth and passenger records. The airport team continues efforts to attain and retain air service, with multiple routes added in the past two years.”
Click here to download this month’s statistical report.
“Scheduled international capacity continued its growth trend in August 2018 at 29,335 monthly departure seats or 29.7 percent,” the report states. “This was primarily driven by added seats on Interjet to Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey and Volaris to Mexico City. Seasonal schedules to Cancún on Southwest and United fluctuated [year over year].”
The San Antonio Airport System launched a strategic development planning process last month as it prepares for increased traffic and competition from larger regional airports such as Austin-Bergstrom and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport over the next 20 years. Austin has been breaking records of its own, including almost 1.5 million served in the month of June. SAT served more than 887,000 passengers in June.
The Aviation Department will first meet with the Airport System Development Committee once it completes its recommendations; then officials will evaluate potential airport expansion alternatives, an airport development and implementation plan, and a financial feasibility study.
Though passengers get most of the attention, more than 24.5 million pounds of cargo passed through the airport in August, nearly double the average cargo growth for North American airports.
And another nonstop added on AA to JFK.
I live off Bulverde and Stahl roads and in the last few days have been awoken around 5 am every day now by a constant stream of air traffic. Can’t stand it. Fought train horn for years and that is finally fixed. Dont know what to do. Cant remember it being so noisy. Cant they start a little later???