How many people are flying out of, traveling through Kentucky’s airports? See the data
Editor’s note: This story and visualization are part of our new “Data In Your Life” series, in which we mine public databases to tell quick stories about the world around us.
More Americans than ever before are taking to the skies, and while all states haven’t yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of air travel, Kentucky has bounced back and even surpassed them.
Sunday, July 7 saw a record 3 million travelers go through America’s airports, according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Pent up travel demand from the COVID-19 pandemic means more people are eager to board planes, and Kentucky airports are seeing that, too.
In the Bluegrass State, airport traffic decreased 60% in 2020 from the year before. With distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine beginning in December of that year, travel restrictions were relaxed, however, allowing more Kentuckians to travel by air.
The federal transportation agency publishes data on the number of passengers flying to or from a given airport. This chart shows the number of passengers who flew to or from a Kentucky airport from 2019 to 2023.
Three years after the onset of the pandemic, airport traffic has bounced back and even eclipsed pre-pandemic levels in Kentucky, as is the case in 24 other states. In 2023, Kentucky’s airport traffic was up 0.8% since 2019.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement he expects the record-breaking travel to continue in the coming months.
How many people fly out of and through Blue Grass Airport in Lexington?
Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport expects to continue seeing a healthy amount of passengers and is working to upgrade its infrastructure.
More than 1 million people pass through Blue Grass Airport each year, and Newsweek ranks it among the top 10 airports of its size in the country. The magazine praised its easy-to-navigate and clean facilities, in addition to its friendly service.
The facility is growing, as well. The airport is building a new 50,000-square-foot hangar to accommodate a broader range of private planes.
The new facility, which the airport expects will be complete this fall, will be capable of housing the largest and longest-range corporate aircraft on the market. Blue Grass Airport is putting $15.5 million into the project, which also includes some additional vehicle parking.
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