Over 5.6 million passengers traveled in and out of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in 2018, an increase of nearly 85,000 travelers, a 3.1 percent increase over the previous year, said Jim Szczesniak, airport manager.
The airport also saw movement of 2.79 million metric tons of air cargo in 2018, an increase of 2.52 percent.
The majority of the passenger traffic increase was driven by tourism, translating into tens of millions of additional dollars for the Alaska economy, Szczesniak said.
“Global growth and e-commerce in particular are the driving force behind our solid numbers.
In 2018 the airport secured new air cargo airlines and that helps grow our cargo numbers. We are also seeing a lot of growth using Anchorage to connect Latin America and Asia. The perishables market between those two regions is really exploding and Anchorage is strategically located between those markets. Airlines can pair fresh Latin American fruit with some fresh, wild caught Alaska salmon or king crab and send a balanced meal to Asia,” he said.
