PHOENIX — Thanks to a busy Thanksgiving travel weekend, Phoenix Sky Harbor International reported pre-Covid passenger growth for the first time since the pandemic started in March 2020.
In November, Sky Harbor’s total passenger count increased 4.4% compared to November 2019, according to a Dec. 30 report from the Phoenix Aviation Department.
The region’s primary airport recorded 3,869,358 total passengers who either flew into or out of Sky Harbor during November. When compared to November 2020, passenger traffic was up 112.9%.
The commercial airline industry has been aiming to get back to and above 2019 passenger levels since the pandemic hit. In July 2021, Sky Harbor’s passenger count was 99.7% of July 2019’s numbers, but then in August the spread of Covid-19 increased with the Delta variant and passenger levels dipped again.
While November’s numbers were up, Covid spread has increased again in December and there is a belief that passenger numbers could take another dip with the spread of the Omicron variant.
