July brought a barely noticeable dip in passenger traffic to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport compared to the same month last year, with a total count of 2,036,077 passengers, marking a 0.17% decrease. Detailed in a report released by the airport, enplanements specifically inched up slightly by 0.11% to 1,015,498. While some carriers like Southwest saw a decline in foot traffic, Frontier Airlines experienced a surge, with passenger numbers skyrocketing by 143.1%.
Contrarily, the air cargo sector didn't fare as well in July. Weighing in at 22,718,483 lbs., the cargo volume dropped by 12.33% when compared to July of the prior year. International air cargo experienced a minor decline of 0.65%. As per the airport's data, notable movers in the freight arena included Air Transport International, which bucked the trend by achieving a 16.5% increase.
The airport's report further illuminated the performance from January through July of this year. Overall, passenger traffic didn't maintain altitude with a 3.86% descent to 12,364,962 passengers for the seven-month period. Among the airlines, significant changes came from Frontier Airlines, which saw a dramatic jump in numbers by 209.4%, and American Airlines, which contrasted sharply with a 21.2% reduction.
The air cargo narrative from January to July had its ups and downs, with the total mass reaching 157,082,068 lbs., representing an 11.4% fall. However, international air cargo by itself told a different story, climbing by 8.47% to 17,596,681 lbs. Air Transport International, moving 61,640,634 lbs., continued its positive streak with a 7.8% increase in the amount of cargo transported, while Federal Express dealt with a steeper decline of 42.7%, as reported by the City of Austin.
When it comes to aircraft operations, general aviation flights showed an uptick of 6.76% in July, totaling 3,049 operations. In the combined tally - inclusive of commercial and military operations - there was a 4.6% increase to 22,903 operations for the month. However, reviewing the period from January through July, general aviation operations actually saw a decline of 1.37%, while the overall operations nudged down by 0.65%.
