March enplanements rise with spring travel

The number of people flying to and from Charleston rose more than 10 percent in March at Charleston International Airport.

“Spring is the start of high travel season in the Lowcountry and is typically when more people travel through the airport,” said Paul G. Campbell Jr., executive director and CEO of the Charleston County Aviation Authority. “Spring is also when our airlines expand their seasonal services, flying larger aircraft and increasing travel frequency to new destinations and existing cities.”

In March:

• 174,230 people boarded a flight at CHS, an 8.9 percent increase.
• The number of people arriving in Charleston on a flight rose 12.3 percent to 184,477
• Overall passenger traffic increased 10.6 percent to 358,707 people.
  
  

Campbell said the continued growth and popularity of Charleston as a destination and place to do business makes Charleston International an airport of choice and puts it on track to top 4 million passengers this year. Last year passenger counts fell just short of the 4 million mark but 2018 has seen changes already that could change that.

“This year we have two new airlines and our existing airlines are adding flights now and we hope to see more additions later this year,” Campbell said.

So far in 2018, Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Airlines have begun service at Charleston International, adding 6 new destinations such as Austin, Indianapolis and Philadelphia. Legacy airlines are adding routes and new cities and bringing back popular seasonal flights to Denver and St. Louis.

Currently, airlines at CHS fly to 28 airports and 24 cities in the U.S.

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