Alaska’s largest airport sees new high in summer passengers

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s largest airport saw its busiest summer for passenger traffic in 2018.

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport manager Jim Szczesniak  says 1.53 million passengers embarked on flights from May through September.

That was an increase of 68,724 passengers, a nearly 4.5 percent increase over summer traffic in 2017.

It also exceeded the previous recorded passenger high in summer 2016.

Szczesniak says most growth was spurred by tourism, including visitors who combined cruise ship trips with flights.

Szczesniak says airlines added more passenger seats and extra flights to accommodate demand, including more flights by Alaska Airlines and new flights by Sun Country.

He says additional growth is expected in summer 2019. United Airlines will switch from weekly to daily flights from Anchorage to New York.