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Philadelphia International Airport reports spike in 2018 passenger traffic, spurred by American and other airlines

PHL officials credited the growth to new flights from American Airlines, Frontier, Spirit, and others.

Chellie Cameron, CEO of Philadelphia International Airport, in January 2019. JOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer
Chellie Cameron, CEO of Philadelphia International Airport, in January 2019. JOSE F. MORENO / Staff PhotographerRead moreJOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer

Philadelphia International Airport saw 31,691,956 passengers in 2018 – a 7.1 percent increase from 2017, and the highest level of annual passenger traffic in a decade, officials announced Tuesday.

PHL attributed the growth to new flights by American Airlines, the airport’s dominant carrier, along with Frontier, Spirit, Southwest and Delta, which collectively added non-stop flights to 27 destinations last year.

American Airlines also helped drive a 6 percent increase in international passengers -- up to 4,246,171 last year – thanks to new European routes including Prague, Budapest and Zurich.