Airport Sets All-Time Passenger Record in 2008

Even a slumping economy couldn't stop one "small but mighty" commercial airport from posting its best year ever in 2008.

Officials with Akron-Canton Airport (CAK) announced this week their airport broke its all time passenger record set in 2006. A total of 1,469,196 customers traveled to and from CAK in 2008, beating the old record set in 2006 by more than 30,000 people -- a 2 percent increase. The record number is also a 5.6 percent increase from 2007 beating it by more than 77,000 customers.

"It's exciting to have a record-breaking year in the midst of incredibly challenging times," said Rick McQueen, president and CEO. "Our customers appreciate CAK's low fares along with our commitment to customer service. We look forward to welcoming even more passengers in 2009."

CAK officials added that nearly every carrier saw an increase for the year, most notably US Airways Express with a 20 percent uptick in passenger numbers. AirTran, Frontier, Northwest Airlink, and United Express also posted increases, while Delta Connection was slightly down.

The airport also carried more passengers in December 2008 than ever before. More than 120,000 total passengers passed through CAK -- a 12.5 percent increase compared to 2007 and a 2 percent increase compared to December 2005, the previous record month.

FMI: www.akroncantonairport.com