Strong Passenger Traffic at Lambert Pushes More Growth in 3rd Quarter

St. Louis - Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL) has recorded its 13th straight month of passenger activity growth. Lambert served nearly 1.2 million passengers (departing and arriving) in September of 2016 to log a 10.4 percent increase over 2015. The Airport enplaned (boarded) 584,525 passengers in September versus 531,851 in 2015 to yield a 10 percent increase in that key airport statistic.

Through the 3rd quarter of 2016, Lambert has recorded 10.4 million total passengers for a 9.1 percent increase over the same time frame in 2015. Third quarter year-over-year growth in total passengers is 8.6 percent. If the growth rate holds through the end of the year, Lambert will serve one million more passengers than in 2015. Lambert’s 2015 total passenger count was 12.7 million passengers.

“We’re really seeing a strong and steady travel trend hold from summer through the fall and that is very encouraging for us, and our airlines,” said Lambert Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge. “This is a result of airlines adding new destinations, adding additional flights to current markets and upgrading to larger aircraft to meet the demand we have now in St. Louis.”

Aircraft activity also continues to show growth in 2016. Lambert’s passenger airlines operated 7,019 departures in September for a 3.7 percent increase versus 2015. Year-to-date growth for aircraft departures is 2.5 percent (63,207 vs. 62,691) through the first nine months in 2015. Lambert recorded a 17 percent increase in air cargo for September (12.4 million lbs.). Year-to-date, the Airport has logged 102.2 million lbs. of cargo which is a 10 percent increase over the same time frame in 2015.

Lambert airlines have added 12 destinations since the summer of 2015. A majority of those new destinations have been with the growth of Southwest Airlines. This year alone, Southwest has added service to Little Rock, AR (LIT), Pittsburgh, PA (PIT); Wichita, KS (ICT); Des Moines, IA (DSM); Oakland, CA (OAK); and Cleveland, OH (CLE). Airlines have also added additional flights to current markets or have switched to larger aircraft. Lambert’s nine airlines served 70 destinations during the peak summer travel season.  

Contact: Jeff Lea
Public Relations Manager
314-426-8125office
314-795-2235cell
jrlea@flystl.com