Fresno’s airport sets record for passengers in 2023. What could drive it higher in 2024?

Tim Sheehan
·1 min read

In 2020, the global coronavirus pandemic quashed airline travel, dropping passenger volume for the year at Fresno Yosemite International Airport by almost half compared to a then-record 1.9 million in 2019.

But as COVID-19 fades in importance, passengers have returned to the skies to and from Fresno with a vengeance, reaching a record of more than 2.4 million in 2023 – the second consecutive year that the number of people flying has topped 2 million.

Airport officials reported this week that inbound and outbound passengers totaled 2,449,418 – a figure that could grow further in 2024 as airlines serving the Fresno market add routes and capacity and the airport continues work on an expansion of its terminal to be completed in 2025.

“Our ongoing terminal expansion is crucial for accommodating the growing demand for domestic and international travel at Fresno Yosemite International Airport,” said Henry Thompson, the city’s director of aviation. Almost 323,000 passengers flew to and from Fresno on international flights aboard Aeromexico and Volaris, the two airlines flying nonstop routes to cities in Mexico.

Among the increased service planned by airlines at Fresno in 2024 are:

  • The addition of one more daily nonstop flight by Southwest Airlines to and from Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport in March, boosting the number of round trips from three to four per day.

  • A resumption of United Airlines’ daily nonstop flights service to and from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, on a seasonal basis starting in May.

  • The start of daily nonstop flights by Delta Air Lines to and from Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport in June.

  • New once-a-week service by Southwest Airlines with Saturday nonstop flights to Love Field in Dallas, starting in June.