LVIA sets passenger traffic record with 3-month summer surge

HANOVER TWP., LEHIGH COUNTY, Pa. — Almost half of the Lehigh Valley's population took a flight out of Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) this summer.

Not necessarily literally, but figuratively.

The Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority on Tuesday said the airport saw its highest summer travel numbers this year, with around 297,000 passengers traveling through LVIA in June, July and August — that's 42% of the population based on figures last year from the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.

LVIA called it "the largest three-month surge on record for the airport."

May kicked off the airport's record run and set the tone for the summer — 16.5% higher than May 2023.

Officials said 98,589 passengers went through ABE in June — up 17.1% from June 2023.

In July, the airport announced numbers totaled 11.7% higher than last year's peak at 91,272 passengers, with 101,988 passengers this year.

Those numbers were expected to be even higher, Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority (LNAA) Executive Director Thomas R. Stoudt previously told LehighValleyNews.com.

“The passenger count would have been even higher, however multiple flight cancellations occurred from the CrowdStrike incident on July 19th that resulted in national and global ground stops being issued by Allegiant, American, Delta and United,” Stoudt said last month.

Last year, 83,524 passengers flew through LVIA in August. That total went up by 15.5% to 96,460 passengers this August.

This month's report followed past trends showing an increase in passengers using American (39.9%) and Allegiant (14.2%), with Delta remaining flat and United declining by 3.1%.

“While the buzz around the terminal is a great indicator of more passenger volume, the statistics provide strong evidence of ABE’s increased activity with nine of the Top 10 busiest days ever for our TSA Checkpoint occurring in June, July, and August of this year,” Stoudt said in a news release.