Press Releases
Passengers Up 55% at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport in 2021
Passenger numbers continued to recover at the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (BTR) in 2021 as 562,834 people flew into and out of the airport. This was a 55% increase from 2020 of nearly 200,000 passengers. BTR was the second largest airport in Louisiana by passenger volume in 2021.
“We had a good year and hope to see this trend continue in 2022 as the travel industry recovers,” said Mike Edwards, BTR’s Director of Aviation. “We would like to thank our passengers, and with more community support we can build on 2021’s success for an even better 2022.”
The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport ended the year slightly ahead of the national percentages relative to 2019 passenger volume, the last full pre-pandemic year. Based on the TSA Through counts, BTR reached 70% of its 2019 passenger numbers verses the national average comparison of 68.8%
The airport’s load factor, which is the percentage of seats filled, has remained high in recent months at over 80%. However, airline staffing, particularly pilot availability, continues to be a challenge to expansion at many airlines.
While not yet back to 2019 levels, airline seating capacity at BTR is continuing to expand. Delta has replaced three of its regional jets to Atlanta with 112-seat, Boeing 717 jets at BTR and a fourth is scheduled be added in March. American and United have also scheduled additional capacity for BTR in the second quarter subject to demand.
About BTR
The Baton Rouge Metro 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