Traffic at Bangor International Airport has returned to 2019 levels this summer as the airport unveiled a handful of new destinations and tourists travel again with the pandemic restrictions lifted.
Passenger numbers at the airport were similar to June and July 2019, when the airport recorded 61,560 and 74,310 passengers, respectively, said airport spokeswoman Aimee Thibodeau. The airport has not yet announced the exact figures for 2021.
It’s another sign that summer travel has made a full return to Maine this summer, with some destinations setting or already seeing records.
Bangor Airport saw a sharp drop in 2020 as Mainers canceled vacations and business trips during the COVID-19 pandemic. Passenger numbers in June and July of last year were 73 percent below the 2019 level.
Most of the new trips are for recreational purposes, with foreigners traveling to Maine on vacation and Mainers traveling around the country. Business travel, which many predicted would not recover as quickly due to the surge in video conferencing, has not returned to 2019 levels, Thibodeau said.
The spike comes as a pleasant surprise to the airport, which has been expecting years of recovery from the pandemic’s low point. The summer months could be the peak of the airport’s passengers, with customers expected to slow down around the fall foliage season, Thibodeau said.
Similar increases in tourist traffic have been seen across Maine, including the Portland International Jetport, which is having a record summer. According to data from the Transportation Security Agency, passenger rates nationwide fell 24 percent in June and July compared to 2019. However, that is almost 250 percent more than last year.
“The people were locked up,” said Thibodeau. “You are vaccinated and now you feel safer for her.”
Bangor International Airport has added several new flights for the summer, including to Boston, Detroit, Miami and Dallas / Fort Worth. Thibodeau said these new flights have performed well and contributed to the increase in passenger numbers.
The spread of the delta variant of the corona virus did not affect the airport, Thibodeau said, as a federal mandate mandates masks in the airport and on airplanes. It is unclear whether this mandate will be extended before it expires on September 13, Thibodeau said.
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