Airport posts 68% passenger growth

PUNTA GORDA — The Punta Gorda Airport says 62,355 passengers passed through the airport in October, a 68% increase over the same month one year ago.

The increase marks the 25th month of consecutive year-over-year monthly passenger growth. “This year will be our best in history,” says Pam Seay, a member of the Charlotte County Airport Authority Board, in a statement.

More than 800,000 passengers have passed through the Punta Gorda Airport in the last 12 months, the authority says in a statement. The airport has expanded its terminal to accommodate the growth in traffic.

The airport's sole carrier, discount airline Allegiant, now offers nonstop service from Punta Gorda to 28 cities. Many of the destinations are smaller airports in the Midwest and Northeast, including Allentown, Pa., Peoria, Ill., Toledo, Ohio, and Niagara Falls, N.Y.