Airport Traffic Booming So Far in 2024

Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. Image from the airport.

Passenger traffic through Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is surging compared to 2023 totals, and last year was already the best year for the airport since the COVID-19 pandemic sent air travel into a tailspin.

During the first six months of 2024, passenger traffic outpaced 2023 by approximately 10.9%, with 3.2 million travelers flying through Milwaukee Mitchell. Similar to 2023, the increase was driven by leisure travel during spring break and early summer, though business travel is also steadily increasing, according to airport spokesperson Harold Mester.

Airlines stacked flights out of Milwaukee in March this year in anticipation of heavy traffic for spring break, and it paid off. Traffic spiked in March, with more than 600,000 travelers flying through the airport. Not only was traffic in March higher than the same month last year, it also outpaced the airport’s busiest month in 2023 (October), by more than 30,000 passengers.

“During the busy spring break and summer travel seasons, airlines added seats and flights to popular destinations, empowering travelers with more reasons to fly from MKE,” Airport Director Brian Dranzik said in a statement. “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.”

Air travel halted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, airports like Milwaukee Mitchell have watched air traffic slowly climb back toward pre-pandemic levels. Recent years’ gains have helped the airport attract more flights.

The airport saw six million passengers in 2023, with the majority of travelers flying in the second half of the year. The numbers from the first half of the year leave the airport “well positioned” to hit its target of 6.3 million passengers in 2024. In 2019, the last year before the pandemic, the airport saw approximately 6.8 million travelers.

The data for 2024 still doesn’t reflect the air travel that passed through the airport in July, when Milwaukee hosted the 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC). It typically takes 30 days to collect and compile the passenger data from the airlines, Mester said. The RNC was expected to bring 50,000 people to Milwaukee, it remains to be seen how much of that traffic as captured by Milwaukee Mitchell, as opposed to its biggest competitor Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Even before the pandemic, airport officials launched a marketing campaign aimed at convincing more Milwaukee area and Wisconsin residents to choose Milwaukee Mitchell when they fly, explaining that more demand will yield more travel options from the carriers.

“Thanks to the world-class team at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, more and more people are choosing to fly local,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in a statement. “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. I commend the entire Airport team for their work to make our hometown airport the preferred choice for Milwaukee-area travelers and visitors alike.”