Peoria International Airport shattered another of its own records in May.
The airport saw nearly 62,000 passengers. That’s more than any previous May in the airport’s history, and also marks its third-busiest month ever.
Director of Airports Gene Olson explained what he believes is behind the recent high volume of flyers choosing Peoria.
“The first thing I can attribute it to is the overall economy. When the economy is doing well, then people feel comfortable and they travel. If the economy is not doing well, then people tend to pull back on their travel expenses," Olson said.
Olson says recently expanded seating on flights to popular destinations like Charlotte, North Carolina; and Dallas have soaked up more passengers quickly.
“Overall, we’ve seen that the passengers react to the seats that the airlines put in the market. As we jokingly say, you can’t sell a seat that you don’t have, and we’ve seen some capacity increases," he said.
More than 280,000 passengers have used Peoria International Airport this year, up nearly three percent from this time last year.
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