Busy John Glenn travel points to Columbus' growth
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Travel at Columbus’ John Glenn International Airport is soaring past records.
Numbers show it was a record-breaking spring for passenger travel at the airport, with officials saying it was the busiest February and March on record; March 18-24 was the airport's busiest week ever with 196,000 passengers flying through Columbus.
Kristen Easterday, the director of communications and public affairs for the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, said the increase is another sign pointing toward Columbus’ growth.
“It says our community is strong, and so when our community is strong, our airport can support that growth,” she said. “And so we want to make sure that by working with our airline partners that we are going to the places, whether it's individuals traveling for fun or for our local businesses, that everybody's going where they want to.”
Families like the Conways, who visited the airport often bringing their son to and from Ohio State, say they’ve noticed it.
“When we first came, when we were looking at schools, so that would be like five years ago, we would come out,” Thomas Conway said. “It was a quiet little airport. But now, as you could see, on a Monday, is a lot more activity. It seems like a lot more volume coming through.”
Worthington residents Shelley and Chet Ridenour said the city is becoming a destination, not just a place to pass through.
“The Intel plant is transformative for this area,” Chet Ridenour said. “I mean, the whole area is going to change.”
Easterday said March numbers have been going up by 8.5 percent year over year.
“I think the demand from central Ohio just continues to grow and we're seeing even our airlines respond,” she said. “So they have added 10 more nonstop routes over the beginning of the summertime.”
Some of those new routes start this month:
- May 8 – Spirit to Myrtle Beach
- May 8 – Spirit to New York-Laguardia
- May 22 – Frontier to Philadelphia
- May 22 – Frontier to New Orleans
- June 7 – Delta to Salt Lake City
- June 8 – Southwest to San Diego
- June 9 – Southwest to Kansas City
Easterday said preparations are underway to start construction on John Glenn’s new terminal, a $2 billion project scheduled to be open in 2029.
“We are already talking with the airlines as we grow the new terminal, so they're even talking about what gates at the new terminal they'll be using,” she said. “And hopefully, as our community grows, we'll see more flights added.”
April’s travel figures are not yet available.