Punta Gorda Airport Year-End Passenger Traffic Up 15.65%
The Charlotte County Airport Authority (CCAA) announces the Punta Gorda Airport passenger count for 2017 was 1,293,337. This is a 15.65 percent increase in passenger traffic for 2017 compared with 1,118,303 passengers in 2016.
For the month of December 2017 the total passenger count was 128,388. There were 61,718 boarding passengers and 66,670 arriving passengers, a 19.3 percent increase from December 2016. The passenger count has continued to increase each year, furthering the airport’s status as an important transportation and economic asset for Charlotte County.
“It’s quite a nice Christmas present for the airport and our community,” said CCAA Board of Commissioners’ Pam Seay. “We are happy to see this rebound after our bout with Hurricane Irma in September. It certainly demonstrates that Southwest Florida remains a preferred destination for our visitors from other regions. Our neighbors to the north appreciate our sunshine and warm Gulf breezes, and we are glad they are here bolstering our economy.”
A 2017 economic impact study by Volaire Aviation Consulting estimated that in the Southwest Florida region PGD is responsible for 3,618 full-time jobs with $353.2 million in economic output.
Allegiant has seven planes based at the Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) offering non-stop, low-cost routes to 40 destination cities. In the last year, Allegiant replaced their fleet of MD-80s at PGD with Airbus A320s, which are newer, quieter and more fuel-efficient. Allegiant has also made significant investments in the PGD infrastructure in anticipation its services will continue to grow.
