The Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) recently achieved its highest monthly passenger volume in the last decade, according to the airport’s website.
In May, 296,885 passengers traveled through the airport, surpassing the previous record of 289,785 passengers, set in October 2023.
May 2024 numbers represent a 10 percent increase in passengers since last May (270,904), according to the site. With over 95,000 more passengers so far this year, the airport is currently on track to beat its 2023 total of 3,056,215 passengers.
And 2023 saw the second highest number of passengers since 2014. 2019 was the busiest year in the last decade with 3,090,604 recorded passengers, according to the airport data.
BHM spokesperson Kim Hunt said the airport has seen 59% school-related/leisure travel and 40% business/military travel in the first quarter of 2024.
“The great news is that travelers can go just about anywhere in the world from BHM,” Hunt said previously. “If their destination is a city not served with a non-stop from BHM, they can catch a connecting flight and be on their way. We work constantly with the airlines to make a case for more destinations, more seats, and more flights.”
The top destination for BHM travelers is Orlando, according to Hunt. Daily flights currently depart to Orlando International Airport on Southwest Airlines. Spirit Airlines service to Orlando starts in October, according to the company’s website.
The airport’s 19 other nonstop destinations are served by Delta Air Lines, Spirit, United, and American Airlines. As AL.com’s William Thornton recently reported, Southwest has added nonstop flights to Phoenix and Nashville in November to test how the market responds.
The nonstop flights to Nashville are currently scheduled to continue through early January 2025.
“This is an opportunity to show Southwest that this community can and will support additional nonstop flights,” Ron Mathieu, president and CEO of the Birmingham Airport Authority, told Thornton. “With more passengers choosing to fly out of the airport and a robust economic outlook in this region, there’s every reason to be optimistic about future growth.”
Southwest will also offer nonstop service between BHM and Milwaukee for Crimson Tide fans traveling to the Alabama-Wisconsin football game over the weekend of September 13 to 15.
Elsewhere in Alabama, Huntsville International Airport also broke records for passenger volume, as previously reported by John Roby of The Huntsville Times.
In May, 148,792 passengers passed through the airport, surpassing the previous record of 137,372 passengers who flew in or out in March, Roby reported.
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