Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) is in the middle of its busiest summer travel period for originating passenger activity since 2001.
“The airlines see the demand in Cleveland, and they are responding by adding service to the places passengers want to go,” said Airport Director Robert Kennedy. “We already know of a 10 percent increase in airline seats for 2017 over 2016, which speaks to the strength of the Cleveland marketplace, and we anticipate more announcements before the end of 2017.”
In June, CLE welcomed 878,630 passengers, which 826,234 were Origin and Destination (O & D) passengers. O & D passengers are not just passing through the building and connecting to another flight, these are travelers who help stimulate jobs and economic activity within the community.
Thus far in 2017, CLE has welcomed 4,338,529 guests, an almost quarter million passenger growth from a very busy 2016. During the same period last year, CLE welcomed 4,108,417 passengers.
With the combination of new nonstop service and lower airfares we had anticipated one of our busiest O&D summer’s in over a decade, surpassing the passenger numbers associated with last year’s Republican National Convention and NBA Championship events.
Recent service additions include Southwest to Atlanta, Spirit to New Orleans, and Frontier to San Diego, Charlotte, Houston Bush and Minneapolis which have contributed to our growth. New service still to come includes Frontier service to Miami and Southwest service to Milwaukee starting in the fall.