Daytona Beach, FL - Even though Daytona Beach International Airport is losing one of its air carriers, passenger numbers at the Volusia County-run airport continue to climb.
According to the latest figures from DBIA, passenger traffic went up over 21% this past September compared to the same month in 2017.
"September marks the eighth straight month of passenger traffic increases over 2017," said DBIA Airport Director Rick Karl.
Karl noted that the big jump is due in large part to Hurricane Irma, which struck the Daytona Beach area in September 2017 and caused flight cancellations.
"The significant increase can [also] be attributed to substantial growth in capacity and additional daily flights on American Airlines and Delta Air Lines," Karl added. "In September, American added eight weekly flights over 2017 and Delta added two weekly flights. Delta and American continue to expand service at a record pace."
With JetBlue announcing the end of its direct service from DBIA to New York City in January 2019, the other airlines are expected to add more flights to compensate somewhat for JetBlue's loss, according to Karl.
"Looking ahead at the fall/winter schedules for both airlines, flights and overall capacity offered to the market will continue to increase for the remainder of 2018," Karl stated.
57,355 passengers flew in or out in September, over 10,000 more than the September prior (47,272).
DBIA statistics also show an over 5% jump in total passenger traffic year-over-year, with 748,003 passengers coming through the airport between September 2017 and September 2018. That's over 36,000 more than the year before when 711,952 passengers came through.
