A report by Philadelphia Department of Aviation says that the Philadelphia International Airport registered an increase of 12.6 pc in terms of number of passengers that reached over 28.1 million passengers in 2023. Northeast Philadelphia Airport was ranked the busiest general aviation airport in Pennsylvania and the third busiest airport in the State in 2023.

The City of Philadelphia Department of Aviation says it has witnessed growth at both of Philadelphia’s airports in 2023, Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE), as per the year-end totals.  

According to a press statement, PHL received more than 28.1 million passengers during calendar year 2023, registering an increase of 12.6 pc over 2022.

The statement adds that there were 294,716 aircraft movements in all at the airport in 2023, which accounts for 3.7 pc increase from 2022, but still 24 pc behind pre-pandemic 2019. PHL says that it recorded a total passenger volume of a little over 28 million, up 12.6 pc from 2022 but still trailing 2019 numbers by 14.8 pc.

Among this, domestic passenger numbers stood at 24 million, an increase of 11.6 pc from 2022 but still 13 pc behind 2019. International passengers stood at 3 million, which accounts for an increase of 20.3 pc from 2022 volumes but 13.2 pc behind 2019.

“Domestic and international flight offerings from our airline partners and innovative programs like the American Airlines-Landline-TSA streamlined airside-to-airside security check process make traveling to and from PHL convenient, and it shows in our 2023 volume increase. New routes that will only be accessible through PHL, such as American Airlines’ service to Copenhagen, Naples and Nice, and events like WrestleMania will put us even closer to our pre-pandemic record totals in 2024,” says City of Philadelphia Department of Aviation CEO Atif Saeed. 

The statement adds that the Department of Aviation also owns and operates PNE, which became the busiest general aviation airport in Pennsylvania and the third busiest airport in the State in 2023.

According to the statement, PNE had 114,674 plane movements, a 19.5 pc increase over 2022. As a general aviation airport, PNE specialises in private transport and the recreational flying component of aviation, and has major tenants engaged in the manufacturing or building process of those aircraft and providing flight training.