Tyler Pounds Regional Airport sees largest increase in travelers since 2020

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Between May, June and July, the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport saw nearly 14,000 passengers to the Dallas Fort Worth Airport, with almost 5,000 of those passengers flying out in July alone, according to their reports. “It’s just so much more convenient to our house, just to come here, load the bags, no crowds, and then you get through security so much faster,” said former Tyler Mayor Martin Heines who was on his way to security with his daughter Izzy. They were on the way to move her into boarding school. They are two of over 27,000 people who have gotten on a commercial flight so far this year. “We saw over 4,700 enplanements in July, which was just the highest number by far that we saw previous to the pandemic, and the numbers even close to that were primarily due to when we had two separate airlines serving the airport, and now with just one airline, to have that strong of a number of enplanements, it’s a very great indicator the future of air travel out of Tyler Pounds,” said Airport Director Steve Thompson. The number of enplanements – people flying out of the airport – for the summer months has increased by nearly 30 percent compared to the summer of 2022. Thompson also said they received a discrepancy free report from their annual Federal Aviation Administration inspection which looks at the safety and efficiency of the airport. “I think that the traveler just really enjoys the low-cost parking, the close scene ability, the seamless experience getting through the TSA security checkpoint and the relaxed environment that they can use to start off their travels,” Thompson said. The airport is only 4,581 passengers away from surpassing the total number of passengers in 2020, and they still have five months left in 2023.