Fort Wayne International Airport broke its all-time record for passengers traveling through its airport in 2024, at 856,803. Photo by Visit Fort Wayne.

News Release

FORT WAYNE — Fort Wayne International Airport is celebrating a record-breaking 2024.

FWA ended 2024 breaking the all-time record for passengers traveling through the airport. FWA saw 430,485 outbound passengers choose to start their journey from the airport — an increase of 8% over 2023. In total, the airport saw a total of 856,803 passengers fly in and out of their local airport – an increase of 7.6% over 2023. Both outbound and total passenger numbers marked record-breaking traffic for FWA. FWA had previously broken the record for passenger traffic in 2023 with a slight 0.2% increase over the previous record year in 2019 — making 2024 the second consecutive year of passenger growth post-pandemic.

In addition to positive outbound and passenger traffic numbers, FWA has seen a number of encouraging air service developments, including increasing frequencies and up-gauging aircraft for flights out of FWA. The airport ended 2024 with a 7.8% increase in flights and a 7.4% increase in available seats year-over-year in the market. December 2024 ended on a year high with a 19.5% increase in flights and a 21.9% increase in seats over December 2023.

Over the past year FWA has seen a number of wins with airlines adding capacity with increased frequency and larger aircraft. Among the wins of 2024:

• Delta Airlines reinstated non-stop service from FWA to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in June 2024.
• American Airlines began to up-gauge the aircraft servicing non-stop service to Charlotte , with two of their three daily flights on the larger CRJ-700.
• United Airlines added a fourth daily flight to Chicago O’Hare in August.
• American Airlines extended its third, daily non-stop flight to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

“Ending 2024 in record-breaking fashion is something to celebrate, and we are thankful for the support of the Northeast Indiana region and our passengers,” said Scott Hinderman, executive director of airports. “It is exciting as the community’s airport to see people choosing to fly local and use FWA as our staff works hard to make the airport the best it can be. We look forward to working with our community and airline partners to continue the growth and momentum in 2025.”

As FWA looks ahead into 2025, there are already reasons to celebrate that will continue to propel the airport and provide opportunities for Northeast Indiana passengers.

• United Airlines has extended its fourth daily flight to Chicago O’Hare through at least August 2025.
• American Airlines will begin up-gauging the aircraft servicing its non-stop Chicago O’Hare route beginning in April with certain flights utilizing the larger E-170 or CRJ-700 aircraft.
• Delta Air Lines will begin offering a second daily non-stop flight to Detroit beginning Saturday, June 8 — just one year after bringing the route back to FWA after an outpouring of community support.

In addition to passenger traffic and route growth, FWA saw successes in both airport administration and operations. The Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority accounting team received the Government Finance Officers Association’s Certificate in Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the 35th year in a row. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by the Airport Authority and its management.

As FWA reflects on a successful 2024 and aims for an even better 2025 — it thanks the Northeast Indiana community for choosing FWA.