Indy Airport Makes History with 10 Millionth Passenger
IND has a record-breaking year with time still left on the clock
INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 16, 2024) – Indianapolis Airport Authority officials hit a historical record last week, with more than 10 million people traveling through the Indianapolis International Airport (IND) in 2024 to date.
“We knew we were going to finish strong in 2024, and it’s only fitting we marked our 10 million passenger milestone shortly after welcoming travelers for the Big Ten,” said IAA Executive Director Mario Rodriguez.
In the first half of 2024, more than 5.2 million people traveled through the Indy airport, setting the airport on course to track 11 percent higher passenger travel in 2024 compared to 2023 and 2019. Those first- and second-quarter numbers were driven by the NBA All-Star game in February, a busy Spring Break travel season, the Total Solar Eclipse, the Indy 500 and Memorial Day weekend.
Nearly 2 million people flew through the Indy airport in June and July alone marking the two busiest months in the airport’s history.
More than 971,000 passengers flew through the Indy airport in July, making it the busiest July for the airport on record – and the second-busiest month of all time behind June 2024.
August followed up with more than 824,000 people traveling through IND – making it the busiest August on record in the airport’s history. Over the summer months, passenger numbers were driven, in part, by the summer travel boom, along with the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials, National Eucharistic Congress, Brickyard 400, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Grand Boulé and Gen Con.
October brought an anticipated heavy fall break travel season; however, at the beginning of the month, Hurricane Milton impacted flight schedules with what would have resulted in record-breaking passenger traffic. At the end of October and into early November, travelers headed to the Indy airport for the much-anticipated last U.S. tour stop of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour.
Thanksgiving holiday travel pushed the numbers even higher and led into a strong early December with college football fans flying in from across the country for the Big Ten championship game. One-time charter flights from Portland and Eugene brought fans in to support the Oregon Ducks, which made a splash in Indianapolis, securing a win and representing one of four new teams to join the Big Ten conference.
“There’s a multitude of positive factors that have driven passenger growth across the year,” said Marsha Wurster, IAA senior director of commercial enterprise. “On top of seasonal travel peaks, IND has welcomed a resurgence of leisure and business travel since the pandemic and benefited from intentional efforts connecting the needs of our community, corporate and airline partners with demonstrated demand and strength of our local economy.”
Wurster said airline relationships and community partnerships are a significant factor, with airlines adding new and additional nonstop flights through IND in 2024 and Visit Indy and Indiana Sports Corp attracting top events to the city.