Airport Has Best Traffic Year Since 2019

General Mitchell International Airport

Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport finished 2023 with just over 6 million travelers using the airport.

The airport announced Wednesday that its final numbers for last year are in and the airport had 6,015,731 passengers travel through Milwaukee Mitchell. The airport was on track for 6 million or more passengers as early as October, Urban Milwaukee previously reported.

Last year was the first year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that the airport cracked 6 million passengers. In 2020, air travel went into a nosedive and carriers began cancelling flights across the country. The figures for 2023 show the airport has really rebounded though still short of the numbers for 2019 of 6,894,894 passengers.

“Multiple airlines have added nonstop flights to new destinations, giving Milwaukee-area travelers more reasons to fly MKE,” Airport Director Brian Dranzik said in a statement Wednesday. “Our sustained passenger growth reflects the increasing desire to travel as the industry continues to rebound from the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The rebound in 2023 was driven by strong growth in leisure travel and a slightly weaker rebound in business travel, and new destinations and flights added to Milwaukee Mitchell’s schedule, the airport told Urban Milwaukee in December.

Southwest and Delta Airlines both brought nonstop flights back to the airport that disappeared when the pandemic hit. And American Airlines added nonstop daily flights to Washington D.C. and seasonal daily flights to Miami, both major hubs for connecting flights to other destinations.

“In 2023, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport delivered results and continued to improve its world-class customer experience with the addition of new air service and concession offerings,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. “With more people flying in 2023, the team at MKE made it easy for our community to achieve their travel dreams right here in Milwaukee County. I am looking forward to celebrating more successes at our hometown airport in the future.”

A number of tourism and business travel draws are expected to attract air travel through Milwaukee Mitchell in 2024. Specifically, the airport noted the annual Harley Festival, the Milwaukee Bucks, Great Lakes Cruises and Wisconsin’s popular golf courses will continue to be a draw for tourists. Northwestern Mutual‘s annual meeting is also expected to be a big source of business travel.

Then there is the Republican National Conventional, an outlier event that the airport is expecting to bring significant air traffic through Milwaukee.

Two airlines have already announced new routes for 2024, the airport noted. Southwest will begin weekly flights to San Diego on Saturdays beginning June 8. And Frontier will run three flights a week to Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina.

Update: Story has been updated to reflect that American Airlines added nonstop daily flights to Washington D.C. and seasonal daily flights to Miami, not United Airlines.