San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is celebrating a milestone as it concludes 2023 with the distinction of being the busiest year in its 80-year history. A total of 10,676,570 passengers passed through SAT, surpassing the previous record set in 2019 by 3 percent, with 10,363,040 passengers.
“We are on cloud nine,” exclaimed Jesus Saenz, Director of Airports, San Antonio Airport System (SAAS). “This is a historical milestone for SAT with 10.7 million passengers. We know how much hard work went into it all – with new routes announced domestically and internationally. 2023 is now the year to beat. We’re getting ready for our first-ever nonstop flights to Europe starting in May on Condor Airlines – and we’re planning so much more in 2024.”
SAT's achievements in 2023 extend beyond the overall passenger numbers:
- Last month, December, witnessed the highest number of passengers ever recorded at 968,469, marking a significant milestone as the busiest December and the first time passenger numbers exceeded 900,000 for that month.
- SAT consistently broke monthly passenger level records every month since May.
- Passenger numbers in 2023 saw a substantial increase of nearly 13 percent compared to 2022.
- July became the first month in SAT's history with over one million passengers.
Brian Pratte, Chief Air Service Officer, SAAS, highlighted the positive developments in air service: “SAT launched several new routes and saw the expansion of existing service.” Spirit Airlines introduced new nonstop service to Baltimore, Ft. Lauderdale, and Los Angeles. Viva Aerobus expanded its network with a new destination, Queretaro, and Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines resumed daily services to New York (JFK) and Kansas City, respectively.
Looking ahead to 2024, the growth trajectory continues with several new routes:
- January 11: Spirit Airlines initiated nonstop service to Tampa (TPA).
- April 5: Spirit Airlines will launch daily nonstop service to Newark (EWR).
- May 17: Condor Airlines is set to launch nonstop service to Frankfurt (FRA) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
- June 1: VivaAerobus plans to introduce nonstop service to Torreon (TRC) with two weekly frequencies on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
- June 4: Southwest Airlines will launch nonstop service to Burbank (BUR).
- June 5: American Airlines is scheduled to commence daily, nonstop service to Philadelphia (PHL).