Grand Rapids, Mich. – More than two million people flew through the Gerald R. Ford International in 2013, marking the second best year in the airport’s history. Total passenger numbers are up 4.83% in 2013 to 2,237,979. This passenger total falls just short of the record 2,275,332 set in 2011.
In total, over 63 million people have flown in and out of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in its 50- year history.
“Our passenger increase says a lot about the thriving West Michigan market,” GFIA Executive Director Brian Ryks said. “Our community continues to grow and with that growth, aviation trends upward. We can’t thank West Michigan enough for supporting its local airport and our local economy.”
Ryks also credits the addition of Southwest Airlines as well as new route on United Airlines to the passenger increase. Southwest started flying in Grand Rapids in August 2013.
“Bringing in more competition gives passengers more options,” said Ryks. “We’re pleased to see Southwest doing well in our market, specifically in the Denver (DIA) and St. Louis (STL) markets with connections to the West Coast. In addition to Southwest, we have seen great progress in United’s new route to Washington-Dulles (DUL). We hope to see 2014 numbers set all-time records.”
The airport had 1,069,795 enplanements in 2012, rising to 1,124,969 in 2013. Deplaned passengers in 2012 tallied 1,065,161 and in 2013 those numbers reached 1,113,010.
December 2013 also saw passenger increases, up 14.57% in 2013 versus 2012. December 2012 passenger totals were 162,816 compared to 184,906 in 2013.
More airport aviation statistics can be found on our website here.
