'A very good destination': NWF Beaches Airport sees booming first five months of 2023

Nathan Cobb, The News Herald
·2 min read

PANAMA CITY BEACH − With peak tourist season underway, traffic continues to boom at the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP).

According to ECP's May activity report, which officials released toward the end of June, the facility serviced more passengers in the first five months of this year than it did during the same time in both 2021 and 2022 − the first and second busiest years in the airport's history.

Though it might be too early to tell how the rest of the year will shape up, Parker McClellan, executive director of the airport, said he is confident 2023 will at least finish ahead of 2022.

The Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport serviced more passengers in the first five months of 2023 than it did during the same time in 2021 and 2022.
The Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport serviced more passengers in the first five months of 2023 than it did during the same time in 2021 and 2022.

"I've said this before, but the Panhandle of Florida has been discovered," McClellan said. "With that, what we've seen is growth from COVID, and we're seeing a lot of return visitors. They've realized the value of our destination and the beauty of what we have to offer.

"We have the beaches to the south. We have lakes, fishing and hunting to the north. We name it, we've got the ability to do that in our region. That makes us a very good destination for family vacations."

May's activity report, which boasted the facility's most up-to-date data available as of Thursday, notes the airport serviced 163,219 passengers during the month. That was 7,266 more passengers than May 2022 but 16,738 fewer passengers than May 2021.

That said, during the first five months of 2023 combined, ECP serviced 614,312 passengers. That was 20,087 more passengers than during the same time in 2022 and 52,645 more passengers than during the same time in 2021.

To help facilitate this ongoing growth, the airport has multiple construction projects underway. They are:

  • A $3.5 million project to pave an overflow lot and add additional parking spaces.

  • A more than $8 million project to expand the baggage area.

  • A $3.2 million project to build out the terminal.

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Southern Sky Aviation, an aircraft maintenance company out of Alabama, also has invested more than $25 million to build a second fixed-based operator on about 11 acres at the airport. Dubbed FBOs, these structures are terminals for small private and corporate planes. Construction for the project is underway and McClellan said he expects it to open in either March or April of 2024.

Servicing multiple Panhandle counties, the regional airport sits north of Panama City Beach in unincorporated Bay County.

"Our goal is to always provide the best level of service that we can to the traveling public," McClellan said. "What we're trying to do now is grow with what's happened over the last two years. ... We're also planning for the future."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: NWF Beaches Airport on track to have potentially record breaking year