LVIA’s May traffic brings 24 percent increase over last year

The Hanover Township, Lehigh County, airport has seen growth since October 2017, and last month saw 69,675 passengers travel through the airport, according to its latest data. That represents a 24.4 percent increase from 55,996 passengers the airport had in May 2017.

American Airlines reported a total passenger increase of 66.2 percent, followed by Allegiant at 18.5 percent, United Airlines posting 17.25 percent growth and Delta, up 8.45 percent.

Thomas Stoudt, executive director of the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, said these increases should continue.

“We will see a slight increase in the number of available seating in our market,” Stoudt said. “We are just getting into the peak summer travel season.”

The airport saw additional service with Allegiant, which continues to be powerful in the leisure travel market, he said. Legacy carriers Delta, American and United also had a good month, he added.

The airport is trying to attract additional carriers and is talking to existing carriers about adding more options for passengers, he said.

“The market right now is such that carriers are focusing on their hub cities,” Stoudt said.

However, overall, he sees more passengers continuing to choose the airport.