LMM to close ’22 with new record of passenger traffic
Just a few weeks before the end of 2022, the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (LMM) in Carolina broke the record for most passengers that used its facilities during the month of November, and it is expected that 2022 will end with a new record of travelers passing through in recent years.
Aerostar Airport Holdings President Jorge Hernández said in the month of November, the airport hosted 33,450 more passengers than in November 2021. The total amount of passengers for November 2022 was of some 866,718, representing an increase of 4% over 2021.
During that month, 833,268 passengers used the LMM for their travels, he explained. Aerostar operates the LMM.
Hernández said the airport had not had such high passenger traffic in November in the past 20 years, adding that the days close to the Thanksgiving holiday saw the greatest mobility of visitors and stressed that Christmas is also a time when there are increases in the numbers of travelers to and from Puerto Rico.
Hernández anticipated that for the 2022 calendar year the facility expects to break the record of passenger traffic.
According to the flights scheduled so far, the number of travelers who will pass through the LMM facility will be close to 10.2 million.
This total would represent an increase of approximately 400,000 to 500,000 passengers, or between 4% and 5% in 2022, when compared with the prior year.
“We’re very pleased with the airport activity, since the number of passengers transported in November has been the highest for that month in the last 20 years of the airport’s operations,” Hernández said. “In addition, we anticipate that this trend will continue during the first quarter of 2023, with 13% more seat capacity than in 2022.”
“This reflects that our capacity incentive initiatives together with a destination positioning, in which we have been collaborating with the different entities in charge of the island’s tourism promotion, are yielding positive results,” he said. “This is good news for Puerto Rico.”
“The commercial aviation industry plays an important role in contributing to the tourism growth and the island’s overall economy,” he added.