Press Releases

The Baton Rouge Metro Airport (BTR) hit a seven-year high of 822,425 total passengers in 2019, and experienced an increase of 8.6% through February 2020, before travel plummeted nationwide due to the COVID 19 pandemic. However, BTR’s passenger volume decline has lessened each month since the pandemic low-point in April.

Total passenger count for September was 31,321, up from 25,175 in August.  BTR passenger numbers have increased each month since the April year-over-year decline of 95%, improving to a year-over-year decrease of only 51.7% in September based on total passenger volume. The airline industry continues to suffer steep passenger declines due to the coronavirus pandemic, but BTR’s year-to-date decline of -55.8% through September is slightly better than the national nationwide average decline of -59.1%.

American carried the most BTR passengers in September with a 55% share, followed by Delta at 24% and United at 21%.

“We would like to thank our passengers for making the continued recovery of passenger volume at BTR possible,” said Mike Edwards, Baton Rouge Metro Airport Director of Aviation. Edwards noted that BTR’s shorter lines and fast security clearance helps facilitate social distancing, and that terminal-front parking precludes passengers from having to ride a bus or van with other passengers from a remote parking lot.