CLE Passenger Numbers Continue to Soar

July 27, 2019

Press Releases

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) continues to welcome more guests through the first 6 months of 2019 than the same period for the past decade. These results are keeping CLE on track for its 2019 passenger forecast of more than 10 million passengers, which will be the highest year since 2008.

During January to June of 2019, the airport has greeted almost 5 million guests. Up 209,785 passengers or 4.49 percent over same period in 2018.

“The increase in passengers choosing Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is a testament to the airport’s focus on quality service and traveler experience. This growth is also reflective of our city’s growing reputation as a key business and tourist destination.”

CLE is experiencing the highest number of Origin and Destination (O&D) passengers, those departing and ending their trip in Cleveland, in the first six months of this year than any other 6-month period since 2000. Currently, 97 percent of the passengers at CLE are O&D, which means an additional 3.6 million guests coming through the front doors of the terminal since 2012.

“More and more people in Northeast Ohio trust CLE to fly them where they want to go,” said Airport Director Robert Kennedy. “We are now seeing more than 9 out of 10 travelers in Northeast Ohio choose CLE. We are honored to continually be the gateway of choice for our guests.”

While passenger numbers continue to grow, CLE is also receiving its highest customer satisfaction scores from Airport Council International’s Airport Service Quality (ACI-ASQ) survey in over a decade, earning a score of 4.30 out of 5.

According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), CLE had a 21 percent increase in passengers the day after the MLB All-Star Game over normal Wednesday traffic and the longest wait time that day was only 15 minutes.

CLE looks forward to continuing this upward trend during the last 6 months of 2019.