In the first six months of this year, 3,158,314 travelers flew through Milwaukee Mitchell, a 10.9% increase compared with the same period in 2023.
After attracting slightly more than six million passengers last year, strong growth in the first half of 2024 has the airport in line to meet the projected 6.3 million passenger mark by the of this year, airport officials said.
In the first six months of 2024, the airport has seen significant passenger growth. The month-by-month increases over 2023 are as follow:
- January: 5.5%
- February: 16%
- March: 14%
- April: 7.7%
- May: 9.7%
- June: 12.2%
“More and more people are choosing to fly local,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said. “It’s excellent news that an increased number of travelers are experiencing Milwaukee County, contributing to our local economy and adding to our tourism sector.”
Airport Director Brian Dranzik noted that during the busy spring break and summer travel seasons, airlines serving Mitchell added seats and flights to popular destinations.
“We’re very pleased with the increase we’re seeing so far this year. This additional flight activity helps create more jobs and supports our local economy,” Dranzik said.
Airlines that serve Milwaukee Mitchell were well prepared for the increase in flyers during the first half of the year, offering more than 60,000 additional seats on flights to spring break destinations in March, an increase of 19% compared with the same month last year.
As the summer travel season nears its close, the airport is preparing for fall and winter travel with new flight offerings on the horizon:
- Spirit Airlines recently launched new nonstop service from Milwaukee to Dallas, operating three times per week.
- Sun Country Airlines is adding nonstop flights between Milwaukee and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic beginning December 26.
- Sun Country is also adding flights from Milwaukee to Montego Bay, Jamaica, starting January 25 and is expanding its seasonal service to Cancun with daily nonstop flights during the upcoming winter and spring break travel period.
Despite the continuing growth at Mitchell, the year-to-date figure for 2024 remains lower than the January-June passenger count in 2019, the last full year of air travel before the COVID pandemic took hold, when a total of 3.4 million passengers boarded and disembarked planes at Mitchell over that time frame. Mitchell’s passenger count for all of 2019 reached nearly 6.9 million.
