Air travel out of the Indianapolis International Airport (IND) increased significantly in the third quarter of 2021, with more than 2 million passengers traveling through the airport from July through September.
According to Transportation Safety Administration figures, the Indy airport outpaced the U.S. recovery in passenger throughput 16 of the last 17 months ending August 2021.
“IND has consistently outpaced our peer airports in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh in passenger traffic recovery, especially through this summer,” said Indianapolis Airport Authority Executive Director Mario Rodriguez. “That’s a big testament to the relationship we have with our airline partners and the keen insight they have in changing market patterns as we’ve come through the pandemic.”
The Indy airport’s third quarter passenger traffic increased 133 percent compared to the same time period in 2020, and down only 15 percent compared to the same time period in 2019.
Marsha Stone, IAA senior director of commercial enterprise, attributes the recovery to new nonstop flights, new airlines and resuming key routes – all resulting in more seat capacity, the most critical driver of growth.
“IND offered 57 percent more flights, with 55 percent more seat capacity overall in Q3 2021 compared to Q3 2020,” Stone said, also noting that the third quarter change in flights and seats was only negative 18 percent and negative 9 percent, respectively, below the same time period in record year 2019.
Key highlights from third quarter 2021
The Indy airport welcomed Contour Airlines as a new airline partner with inaugural daily nonstop flights to Nashville (BNA), Milwaukee (MKE) and Pittsburgh (PIT) in October. Additionally, Allegiant launched its August-only nonstop flight to Rapid City, S.D. (RAP), and American and Sun Country launched new nonstop flights to Austin (AUS) and Orlando (MCO), respectively, in September.
Additionally, United Airlines resumed its nonstop, daily service to San Francisco (SFO) in September, which had been temporarily halted due to the pandemic.
Looking ahead to the final quarter of 2021, the Indy airport will rack up in total 22 new nonstop flights announced for the year, with Allegiant launching two new inaugural nonstop flights to Palm Springs (PSP) on Nov. 18 and another to Key West (EYW) on Dec. 1. United Airlines will also launch its inaugural nonstop flight to Orlando (MCO) on Dec. 18 and resume service to Ft. Myers (RSW) on Dec. 16. Delta Air Lines will resume daily nonstop service to Salt Lake City (SLC) on Dec. 18. These new additions and resumption of service are launching just in time for the perfect winter getaway.
For a complete list of nonstop destinations by airline, visit IND.com.