Mitchell International Airport reported Monday that it saw a 5 percent increase in passenger traffic in 2024 compared to the previous year.
More than 6.3 million passengers used MKE last year compared to just over 6 million in 2023. That itself was a big jump from 2022's just under 5.5 million.
The pandemic tanked travel numbers everywhere in 2020-21 and at Mitchell that meant just 2.6 million travelers in 2020, rising to 4.5 million the following year.
“Travelers across the region continue to choose Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport as their airport of choice," said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. "This continued growth is a testament to our airport’s excellence, generating economic growth and showcasing Milwaukee County as a premier destination to the world.
"I applaud (airport) Director (Brian) Dranzik and the entire team for their outstanding work and commitment to ensuring that our hometown airport continues to provide top-tier service, convenience, and accessibility for all who travel through Milwaukee County."
The numbers are still down from pre-pandemic statistics. There were nearly 6.9 million passengers moving through the airport in 2019 and a tad more than 7 million the year before that.
“Travelers decide the level of air service at any airport, and more travelers coming through our doors lets airlines know the demand for flights is here,” Dranzik said.
“We hope to keep this trend going in 2025 with multiple projects underway to further elevate our customer experience.”
According to airport staff, the 2024 growth was boosted by the addition of new nonstop routes.
"Sun Country Airlines made major investments in MKE in 2024 by bringing back seasonal nonstop flights to Cancun, Mexico and increasing the frequency of those flights from weekly to daily through the spring break travel period. The airline also recently expanded their winter international offerings with multiple flights per week to Montego Bay, Jamaica and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
"In addition to their international routes, Sun Country also flies nonstop from MKE to Fort Myers, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Orlando and Phoenix."
Southwest Airlines has announced it will add flights to Austin, Texas in March, and Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines have said that they will add multiple flights to Tampa each week, with Spirit also adding new service to Orlando and expanding spring break service to Fort Lauderdale.
You can find Mitchell Airport passenger statistics as far back as 2002 here.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
