BWI Airport Sets Huge Record for Passengers in 2016

HANOVER, MD — Baltimore Washington International Airport has just posted its 2016 traffic numbers, and the airport set a new record with 25.1 million passengers recorded, up nearly 2 million from the previous records set in 2015. Last year BWI also set records every month for passengers, showing that the airport has been growing exponentially in recent years.

In total, 25,122,651 passengers flew through BWI Airport in 2016 – a new all-time record for annual passenger traffic at the airport. The previous record set the year before was 23,823,532 passengers.

“This record-setting growth reflects the importance of BWI Marshall Airport to the Baltimore-Washington region and our state,” said Gov. Larry Hogan in a news release last week announcing the record. “Our administration is committed to the continued success of BWI Marshall and its role as a vital transportation and economic development resource.”

In addition to setting a year's total record for 2016, BWI Airport also set monthly records for each month in 2016. The airport has broken monthly passenger records for the past 18 consecutive months, airport officials say. International passenger traffic reached 1,233,466 million passengers in 2016, also a new record, and 2016 was the second-straight year with more than one million international passengers.

Airlines showing increased customer bookings in 2016 through BWI include: Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Condor, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and WOW air.

Parts of a $125 million expansion project at BWI Airport to add international airline capacity and new passenger services, including a security checkpoint for both domestic and international passengers, opened just before the busy Thanksgiving 2016 holiday.

Finishing work on the terminal continued through early 2017. Additional new concessions and new restrooms will be added, while the former security checkpoints for the D and E concourses will be decommissioned. BWI Marshall is the 22nd busiest airport in the United States.

The project includes a new eight-lane security checkpoint for screening domestic and international travelers, new food and retail concessions, the construction of a new secure connector between Concourse D and the international Concourse E, and the configuration of airline gates to support added international service. Airport customers also will enjoy a new children’s play area and an outdoor patio space with airfield views.

Last month, Transportation Security Administration announced that BWI set another record in 2016: the number of firearms seized at the airport, and BWI wasn't even in the top 10 for the most seizures. TSA officers detected 24 firearms at BWI checkpoints in 2016, up significantly from the 16 detected in 2015: a 62 percent increase, authorities said.

The top five airports where TSA officers detected guns at checkpoints in 2016 were: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International with 198; Dallas/Fort Worth International with 192; George Bush Intercontinental at Houston with 128; Phoenix Sky Harbor International with 101; and Denver International with 98. These same airports were in the top five for guns at checkpoints in 2014 and 2015.

Authorities pointed out that firearms are never allowed at security checkpoints. Passenger who try to transport firearms through security checkpoints face criminal charges and up to $12,000 in civil penalties.

»Patch file photo of BWI Airport