Press Releases

Baton Rouge, LA – For Immediate Release, July 30, 2021

The June 2021 passenger traffic for the Baton Rouge Metro Airport (BTR) hit 54,487 passengers, a 258% increase over the same month last year.

June passenger volume included 27,721 departing passengers (enplanements) and 26,766 arriving passengers (deplanements). Although still below pre-pandemic levels, the steadily increasing 2021 passenger numbers resulted June reaching 80% of the June 2019 pre-pandemic volume, the highest percentage to date since the pandemic began. BTR’s passenger count for June was in line with the national average for airports on a percentage basis at 80% of the 2019 volume.

As for airline market share at BTR in June, American Airlines continued to hold the top position, with 45% of the passenger traffic followed by Delta at 31% and United at 24%.

As for airline market share in Milwaukee in March, Southwest Airlines continued to hold its dominant position, with more than 51% of the passenger traffic at the airport.

“We really appreciate the support from the community in building back our passenger demand,” said Mike Edwards, Baton Rouge Metro Airport Director of Aviation. “We often say ‘airlines follow passengers,’ which means flying BTR is the most effective way to help expand our service. It is a particularly important time to fly BTR whenever possible.”

BTR and the airlines continue to follow strict cleaning and disinfecting protocols in the terminal and on the aircraft. High-touch surfaces at BTR are cleaned frequently with hospital-grade disinfectants, and disinfectant fogging is done in the terminal building at night. American, Delta and United utilize fogging by spraying an electrically-charged and safe to breathe disinfectant on interior aircraft surfaces before the physical cleaning process to ensure germs and viruses are eradicated.

HEPA filters on the aircraft capture at least 99.97% of airborne microbes by circulating the cabin air once every 2 to 4 minutes. As the filters purify the air on the inside of the aircraft, fresh air enters the engine compressor on the outside, making the cabin air much cleaner than the air in most restaurants, bars, stores or commercial buildings.

About BTRThe Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport is served by the major, network airlines – American, Delta and United – with frequent hub flights that provide access to destinations worldwide. The airport provides an annual economic impact of $1.1 billion and over 4500 direct and indirect jobs in the Baton Rouge area. The Airport is administered as an Enterprise Fund, generating its own revenues for operations as opposed to using local tax funds.

Contact: Jim Caldwell

Air Service Development, Marketing & Public Relations Manager

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport

Phone 225-931-9098

jcaldwell@brgov.com