Passengers at Tucson International Airport wait to pick up their luggage in baggage claim. August 2020.
The Tucson International Airport reports March was their busiest travel month in 16 years, signaling that Tucson’s demand for travel is exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
TIA officials said March is always the busiest month for seasonal travel in Tucson, but this year’s record numbers are due in part to airlines expanding their service here.
“Customers are responding to the airlines adding capacity into our market. We’ve come out of the pandemic really strong, and the airlines are seeing Tucson as a profitable market,” said Director of Marketing and Air Service Development Brian Kidd.
Kidd said this is good news for travelers who want to avoid driving to Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, as increased traffic makes Tucson more attractive to airlines.
“As more and more people use Tucson, we're going to be more likely to get more service at Tucson, which in turn would reduce people's needs to use Phoenix. So we've kind of looked at it as a virtuous circle,” he said.
According to data from TIA, nearly 400,000 passengers traveled through the Tucson airport last month, a number that hasn’t been seen since before the 2008 financial crisis.
Airport officials also said they expect to see an additional 45,000 travelers in this year’s summer travel season compared to last year.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.