Increased worldwide air travel is evident in Alaska.

• Author: Viray, Khristian
• Position: ALASKA TRENDS - Statistical data

Worldwide, more people than ever are traveling by air. Airports Council International, a global association of large airports, noted a 6.1 percent rise in total passengers in 2015 over 2014.

Out of the seven hundred plus registered airports in Alaska (a figure that includes remote landing strips), the two busiest are Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and Fairbanks International Airport. The global upward trend is evident in the passenger counts of the two airports.

Ted Stevens alone served an approximate 5.5 million arrivals and departures in 2015, which is about 6.7 percent more passenger trips than 2014. Out of the total passengers, 2.7 million were enplanements. Ted Stevens employs 350 individuals directly and a further 15,577 jobs are tied to the airport in some way, about one in ten jobs in Anchorage. Based on 2015 data from Airports Council International, Anchorage has retained its power status in the air cargo world and currently ranks second in the United States and fourth in the world in metric tons of cargo processed.

Fairbanks' numbers have held steady, increasing by 2 percent in 2015 at around 1 million passenger arrivals and departures. It employs about one hundred people. Both airports should see further upticks for 2016 as the visitor industry expects a banner year.

Tourism is predicted to grow by approximately 3 percent in 2016 according to the Alaska Travel Industry Association, and about half of the state's visitors arrive by air, with cruise ships making up the balance.

Data from both airports shows that passenger counts begin to increase in May and peak in July. The data combined the enplaned, deplaned, and in-transit passengers for each month.

Anchorage and Fairbanks Totai Passenger Counts (In Thousands) Anchorage Fairbanks 2014 2015 2014 2015 January 332 344 70 72 February 299 312 71 67 March 374 401 94 90 April 319 352 69 66 May 450 472 87 92 June 554 619 116 118 July 664 710 128 128 August 632 674 127 125 September 446 459 90 92 October 382 389 76 78 November 345 365 66 76 December 347 395 71 84 During the peak months of June, July, and August, total passenger counts increased in Anchorage by 8.2 percent in 2015 or about 150.000 more passengers than 2014, pointing to a strong year for the visitor industry. However, peak season numbers saw little movement in Fairbanks. As for 2016, available data indicates that travel to Alaska has already picked up. Between January and February 2016, Ted Stevens has served...