June busiest month on record at PIA
Jul 12, 2018
PEORIA, IL -- June was the busiest month on record at the Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport, surpassing the previous best month in airport history this past March.
A record 64,784 passengers traveled through Peoria's airport last month. This is a 3.4 percent increase over the airport's prior best month in March, which is traditionally a strong travel month due to Spring Break.
PIA's overall passenger count is also currently tracking 6 percent higher than the airport's best year ever: 2015. PIA saw a total 641,671 passengers in 2015.
"This is great news -- not just for the airport, but for our community as a whole. Continuing this trend will send a strong message to our airline partners that PIA is an airport worthy of additional flights and new routes," said Gene Olson, Director of Airports for the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria. "Of course, we're proud of the 12 nonstop destinations we have now, including daily flights to four of the five most connected airports in the country, but we need another western gateway. When our community, particularly our business travelers, choose PIA versus driving three hours to another airport, it shows our airline partners the need that's truly here."
A recent market analysis shows that PIA captures just 58 percent of the air travel within a 25- to 40-mile radius. Of the 42 percent choosing another airport, 33 percent of those are choosing O'Hare International Airport, according to the study.
"In the past few months, we've really been focused on the Fly Local message because we've seen the impact it has had at other Midwestern airports," Olson said. "In our industry, the advice 'use it or lose it' means more now than ever before, especially for airports our size."
PIA has daily nonstop flights on American, Delta and United airlines to six major hubs, including four of the five most connected airports in the U.S.
Low-cost carrier Allegiant flies nonstop from PIA to Las Vegas, Phoenix and four Florida cities -- Destin, Orlando, Punta Gorda and Tampa/St. Petersburg.
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- For information, contact:
- Gene Olson, Director of Airports
- Phone: 309-697-8272
- Email: golson@flypia.com