BTR reports 2011 airport use hit three-year high

More passengers flew in and out of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport in 2011 than in any of the past three years, airport officials reported today, with 809,851 total passengers using the airport. That’s roughly a 4% increase over 2010 figures. Year-end figures were aided by a good December, when the passenger count was 66,873—a 4.5% increase over December 2010. The 2011 numbers show slightly more people used the airport to get to Baton Rouge than to fly out of the city. The airport recorded 404,735 enplanements, or boarding passengers, and 405,116 deplanements, or disembarking passengers. Delta Air Lines had the highest market share of BTR passengers from the airport, at 38% of traffic, followed by United/Continental at 28%, American Airlines at 24% and US Airways at 10%. “We appreciate the support from companies and residents in our area,” says Anthony Marino, BTR director of aviation, in a prepared statement. “The community’s support of the Baton Rouge Metro Airport air service is vital to sustaining our existing flights and justifying additional airline service.”