SAN DIEGO (CNS) - San Diego International Airport broke its passenger traffic record for the fifth consecutive year, serving roughly 24 million passengers in 2018, the Airport Authority announced Friday.
The total -- up nearly 10 percent over last year -- included one million international passengers, a 19 percent jump from 2017, according to the Airport Authority, which credited several airlines' expanded service and airport-wide traffic increases for the new record.
``This is a tremendous time of growth for not only SAN but the entire San Diego region,'' said Kim Becker, the airport's president and CEO. ``With more people choosing San Diego as their destination of choice, we are looking ahead at projects to accommodate this trend and provide the world-class airport experience our customers and community deserve.''
Airlines servicing the airport added 16 new routes throughout the year and 15 of the airport's 17 airlines saw overall traffic increases.
According to the Airport Authority, Southwest Airlines added 794,401 passengers from 2017 to 2018, the most of any airline flying out of San Diego. Alaska Airlines and United Airlines finished second and third among those with traffic increase, with 456,360 and 306,837, respectively.
The airport is currently on pace to serve more than 25 million passengers this year, according to the Airport Authority.
