With record-breaking traffic in 2022, Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) welcomed approximately 3 million travelers, earning its designation as "the best little airport around" from Mayor Christy Gilbert Holstege in a Jan. 19 tweet.
Reflecting on the busiest year in the Coachella Valley airport's history, Executive Director of Aviation Harry Barrett described that 3-million milestone as "industry-enviable growth" in a press release shared by PSP.
"Last year our airport experienced industry-enviable growth, and I want to thank everyone at PSP for their efforts to provide the best experience possible," Barrett said in the press release. "We look forward to welcoming new shops and restaurants this year, more passenger experience improvements, and we will continue to work toward adding more year-round air service for our community.”
PSP announced last week that 2022 was one for the record books, with passenger numbers consistently exceeding pre-pandemic numbers. The total passenger count for 2022 was 2,981,844. This topped -- by 16.3% -- the previous record set in 2019 when 2,535,955 passengers passed through PSP's doors.
In addition to these records, PSP said the airport set new monthly passenger records, welcomed new airlines and launched new service to several cities. PSP also set two additional records for the most commercial flights and available seats in a year, with a total of 16,254 commercial flights scheduled at the airport last year — an increase of 14.2% over the previous record held in 2019. The number of available scheduled seats climbed 22.8%, reaching a record high of 3,622,934.
There is no end in sight for this growth, according to PSP, which has forecasted the first quarter of this year to have approximately 14% more flights and 21.8% more seats than the first quarter of 2022. More than 1.2 million passengers are expected to travel through PSP during this time.
“This growth has allowed us to welcome new and returning visitors to Greater Palm Springs while also providing residents with access to more destinations than ever before. Our long-term goal is to advocate for the airport’s ability to add nonstop flights for European travelers," President and CEO of Visit Greater Palm Springs Scott White said in the press release.
"We are making significant investments in adding new, local food and retail! The future of PSP is bright," the mayor tweeted.