Annual passenger numbers released by the Connecticut Airport Authority show a 1 percent increase at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, although fewer people used the airport in December.
The airport authority reported the 2015 passenger total was 2.96 million. That’s a 1 percent year-over-year increase from the 2014 total of 2.93 million. Traffic has grown 9.6 percent since 2013.
The airline showing the largest growth both in passenger numbers and percent growth was Jet Blue. It reported 424,457 passengers in 2015, an 18 percent increase from 2014.
Southwest continues to be the biggest airline at Bradley with 820,784 passengers. Those numbers declined from a 2014 tally of 855,127.
American Airlines, following its merger with US Air, is the second largest airline with 754,661 passengers. In 2014, the two had a combined 840,232 passengers at Bradley.
Delta had 654,948 passengers. That was up from 613,283 in 2014. United reported 283,655 passengers in 2015, up from 251,730 in 2014.
At the Feb. 8, 2016, airport authority board meeting, Executive Director Kevin Dillon reported on the performance other major airports in New England: Boston’s Logan International, which saw 5.7 percent growth; Providence’s T.F. Green, which had flat numbers; and, Manchester, New Hampshire’s regional airport, which saw a 0.9 percent decline.
Dillon said the growth is impressive in light of the previous year’s 8.4 percent growth. He said that’s due in part to the authority’s emphasis on aggressive route development. “We anticipate that 2016 will be an even better year with the start of service to Dublin, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh, as well as increased service to Denver,” he said.
