Passengers, cargo increase at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in 2021

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport continues to see increases to both passenger and cargo numbers during the pandemic.

More than 4.5 million passengers, according to a news release from the airport Friday, passed through Anchorage in 2021. That’s a 93% increase from 2020.

“From a tourism perspective we are obviously one of the top markets that exists,” said Airport Director Jim Szczesniak.

The airport drew an extra 2 million passengers last year. That still trails the record of more than 5.7 million set in 2019.

“The state actually, and the tourism industry, did a really good job actually of marketing the state last year,” Szczesniak said. “And that investment in that marketing paid off pretty solid.”

Passengers are not the only increase at the airport. Roughly 3.6 million metric tons of air cargo came through Anchorage in 2021. That, according to the release, is an increase of 14% over 2020, which breaks the previous record.

The Anchorage airport is the fourth busiest in the world for cargo.

“Cargo activity has been strong and that’s because of the economy. And then also this e-commerce that we’re seeing, this switch,” Szczesniak said. “Again, there’s a lot of factors playing into the air cargo industry right now that are good for Anchorage in the long run.”

Despite last year’s increases, Szczesniak predicted this year could be even better.

The return of European flights to Anchorage this year for the first time since the pandemic, in addition to more cruise ships, are some of the reasons Szczesniak said summer seat capacity on the airlines is 6% higher compared to 2019.

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