More than 2.13 million passengers used the Portland International Jetport in 2018, making it the all-time busiest year in the jetport’s history. Overall traffic at the jetport was up 14.6% year-over-year, surpassing the then-record 1.86 million passengers in 2017.
“2018 was a tremendous year for the jetport,” said Paul Bradbury, director of the airport. “This is the first time we’ve crossed the two million passenger threshold in a single year, and 14% growth on our all-time record speaks to the strength of the market we serve. Portland is a very popular destination and is further assisted by the overall strength of the Maine market.”
The jetport’s air service highlights in 2018, include:
- Frontier Airlines entering the market, adding service to Denver, Colo.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers, Fla.
- American Airlines operating summer seasonal Chicago O’Hare service.
- American, Delta, Southwest, and United adding larger aircraft to the market on multiple routes.
Here’s the 2018 passenger breakdown:
- Passengers getting on airplanes: 1,073,567
- Passengers getting off airplanes; 1,060,863
- Total passengers; 2,134,430.
Here’s the breakdown of airline market share in 2018 :
- American Airlines: 606,029 passengers (28.39%)
- Delta Air Lines: 539,958 passengers (25.30%)
- United Airlines: 428,945 passengers (20.10%)
- Southwest Airlines: 304,200 passengers (14.25%)
- JetBlue Airways: 176,857 passengers (8.29%)
- Frontier Airlines: 63,678 passengers (2.98%)
- Elite Airways: 13,187 passengers (0.62%)
- Charters: 1,576 passengers (0.07%).
The passenger tally for previous record years: 2017, 1.86 million; 2016, $1.77 million; 2008, $1.69 million.