Press Releases

Passenger volume at the Baton Rouge Metro Airport (BTR) was up 91% in September 2021 over the same month last year.

BTR total passenger numbers were 59,798 in September, reaching 90% of the September 2019 numbers. As the last pre-pandemic year, 2019 is used as a benchmark for airlines and airports in measuring passenger demand recovery. BTR has exceeded the national trend on the percentage of passenger growth in 2021 year-to-date.  

American Airlines took the top share of passengers, with 47% of BTR’s passenger traffic, followed by Delta at 28% and United at 25%.

The Baton Rouge Metro Airport 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 BTR

The 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.