PIE airport sees slight drop in August passenger count

The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) saw a slight year-over-year decrease in August, as passenger volume dropped 3.35% last month compared to August 2022, according to a Tuesday news release.

PIE was closed for 24 hours in late August, and all flights on Aug. 30 were canceled because of Hurricane Idalia.

Nevertheless, PIE officials say they are still on track to exceed passenger volume of 2022.

So far through Aug. 31, PIE has had 1,768,501 passengers. That's 0.9% more than at the same point in 2022.

PIE officials say the airport set a record in 2022 with 2,445,919 passengers, a 20% increase over 2021 and a 7% increase over 2019, the last record-breaking year before 2022.

Now, PIE could break that record by Dec. 31. PIE serves 63 destinations, with nonstop flights offered primarily by Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air.