Passenger traffic at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee was up 10 percent in April, compared to a year ago, to 615,706.
The rise was largely attributed to increased international traffic with the addition of direct service from Mexican airline Volaris between Milwaukee to Guadalajara, Mexico.
Increased flights to Mexico and the Caribbean, flown by Norwegian in partnership with Milwaukee-based FunJet Vacations and Apple Vacations, also helped propel the higher passenger numbers.
“Increased passenger traffic is always great news for our community,” said Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele. “As more travelers choose MKE, airlines tend to respond by adding service.”
Last month, Southwest Airlines announced it would add service from Milwaukee to Nashville and from Milwaukee to Cleveland. This week, Alaska Airlines launched direct service from Milwaukee to Portland, Oregon.
So far this year, total passenger traffic at Mitchell is up 2.7 percent from the first four months of 2016. International traffic is 18 percent higher.
About 6.8 million passengers traveled through Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport in 2016, up 3.2 percent from 2015.
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