By Press Release Submitted to OnMilwaukee.com Published Jan 31, 2017 at 8:55 AM

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele has announced that passenger traffic rose more than three percent at Milwaukee County’s General Mitchell International Airport (MKE) in 2016.

December’s increase in passengers brought the full-year increase to 3.2%, compared to 2015. For the year, a total of 6,757,357 people chose Mitchell Airport for their travel in 2016, which represents an increase of 208,004 from the 2015 total. December’s passenger count rose two percent to 512,677.

"This increase in passengers is due to new nonstop routes launched from MKE in 2016 and continued marketing of our routes to travelers across Wisconsin and northern Illinois," County Executive Chris Abele said. "The convenience, efficiency and competitive fares offered by MKE are helping us create more demand for additional new flights at Mitchell Airport. I encourage everyone to keep choosing our local airport for their travel needs. It’s the best way for us to get even more flights."

The passenger increase is a direct result of new nonstop flights added in 2016:

  • January Orlando on Frontier Airlines
  • April Dallas on Frontier Airlines
  • June Philadelphia on Frontier Airlines; San Diego on Southwest Airlines
  • December Phoenix on Frontier Airlines

More growth is expected in 2017 with new routes from Alaska, Delta, and Volaris:

  • March Guadalajara, Mexico on Volaris; Seattle on Delta Air Lines
  • June Portland on Alaska Airlines

Mitchell Airport offers nonstop flights to 39 destinations coast-to-coast, and 160 international destinations are available from Milwaukee with easy, one-stop connections. MKE is the only airport in Wisconsin or northern Illinois served by all the major domestic carriers including Air Canada, Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, Norwegian (Apple/Funjet Vacations), OneJet, Southwest, United and Volaris. The complete list of nonstop cities can be found at www.mitchellairport.com.

General Mitchell International Airport is owned by Milwaukee County and operated by the Department of Transportation, Airport Division, under the policy direction of the Milwaukee County Executive and the County Board of Supervisors. The airport is entirely funded by user fees; no property tax dollars are used for the airport’s capital improvements or for its day-to-day operation.