Eastern Iowa Airport sets passenger record in 2024

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Eastern Iowa Airport beat its all-time high for total passengers in 2024, with 1.5 million people using the Cedar Rapids airport.

The passenger count is up from the previous record from 2023, when the airport saw about 1.4 million passengers. Before 2023, the previous record high was 2019, when the airport saw 1.3 million passengers, according to a news release from the airport.

“The success of CID is built on the strength of passengers choosing to use CID for business and leisure travel,” Airport Director Marty Lenss said in a statement. “When airlines see people using this airport, they will look at ways to increase service, whether is it is increasing the size of the aircraft flown, adding more frequency or even introducing a new destination.”

Airlines added three new destinations to the airport in 2023. American Airlines added daily flights to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and seasonal, Saturday flights to Miami International Airport. Allegiant Air added flights to Fort Lauderdale. The airport now has 15 non-stop destinations and more than 400 destinations that can be reached with one layover.

Airlines have continued to invest in additional flights to and from the airport, causing the capacity to increase. According to the new release, January’s capacity is up 10 percent from January 2023, February’s is up 5 percent and March’s is up 3 percent.

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