Logan International Airport passenger traffic posted positive growth last year with a 0.4 percent increase in total passengers for 2003, the first increase since 2000. Logan Airport added 236,000 passengers in the last quarter of 2003, an increase of 4.25 percent over the same period in 2002. The airport ended the year with 22.8 million passengers including 18.8 million domestic passengers, but travel remains well below 2000 levels when the airport handled 27.4 million passengers.
In 2004, Logan Airport is poised to offer customers more flying options with new service from the latest low-fare entrant, JetBlue; new flights and destinations on American Airlines, America West, Air Tran, and US Airways; first-ever nonstop service to Mexico City, Mexico and Manchester, UK; and new nonstop service to Rome.
It will be a while before we see air travel return to pre-recession levels, but at least more passengers are benefiting from Logan Airport's new terminals, roads, and wide variety of airline choices, said Massport CEO Craig P. Coy. By providing our customers with 67 nonstop domestic destinations, nationally-recognized security, and quality customer service, we are helping New England begin to emerge from tough economic times. With almost 5 million fewer passengers than in the year 2000, it is more important than ever that we continue to stay the course and remain a leader in security and passenger amenities.
While passenger numbers increased in 2003, the number of aircraft takeoffs and landings declined by 4.8 percent, from 392,079 in 2002 to 373,304 in 2003.
Logan Airport is undergoing a more than $4 billion modernization program that will result in improved access, modern facilities, and the latest customer amenities. In addition, Massport, which owns and operates Logan Airport, has been nationally-recognized for being the first U.S. airport authority to design and build an inline 100% bag screening system, deploy an anti-terrorism unit armed with submachine guns and hand held wireless computers, and implement behavior profiling to spot potential terrorists.