Air travel in OKC is surpassing pre-pandemic levels. The summer is looking even hotter

If you're planning to travel by plane anytime soon, don't count on it being a slow day at the airport. Oklahoma City's air travel numbers have risen back to pre-pandemic levels during the first quarter of this year, a trend officials expect to continue.

According to data from Will Rogers World Airport, 391,389 passengers flew in or out of OKC in March, setting a record for that month. Also, a record 980,188 passengers flew in or out of OKC from January through March, eclipsing the airport's previous first-quarter record in 2019 by 44,845.

Stacey Hamm, Will Rogers spokesperson, said this is the first time a quarter has outpaced the same time frame in 2019, which saw a record 4.4 million annual passengers for the airport.

These new record numbers come despite "higher airfares and fewer flights compared to 2019," said Airports Director Jeff Mulder.

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"The airlines have not restored all of our markets since COVID due to a lack of pilots," Mulder said. "The passengers have returned in record numbers, and we expect as the airlines continue to recover, we will continue to see a great future at OKC."

Travel increase a nationwide trend

Oklahoma City is not alone in its return to pre-pandemic travel, with the Transportation Security Administration reporting 260.1 million security screenings from Jan. 1 through April 30, up from 259.8 million for the same time period in 2019.

The head of the Transportation Security Administration David Pekoske told Bloomberg summer airline passenger levels are expected to be "comfortably above" pre-pandemic levels, as COVID-19 disruptions to air travel are fading.

What summer travel will look like in OKC

Hamm said in hearing from airlines that operate out of Will Rogers, airport officials have been assured planes this summer will be packed.

"All of our airlines are really happy with the numbers that they're seeing right now for summer travel, and they are seeing it's more leisure than it is anything else," Hamm said. "They're working on their fall and winter schedules right now, so we're not quite sure what those are going to look like just yet."

More: Biden administration wants to boost aviation sector training in OKC

What flights OKC is working to get back after COVID-19

Several routes flying in and out of OKC have not returned since being dropped in 2020.

Hamm said the team at Will Rogers is actively working to bring back routes to San Francisco; Newark, New Jersey; Detroit; and Dulles in Washington, D.C.

"We're heavily out there trying to work with (the airlines) and recruit new markets," Hamm said.

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Will Rogers would like to add flights to the Florida cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg, as well as increase frequencies to Orlando, Hamm said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC air travel is up, and will only get busier in the summer