May 2021 Statistical Report - Making Strides Towards Recovery - Passenger and air cargo stats

Sep 14, 2026

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May 2021 Statistical Report presents passenger and air cargo performance for San Antonio International Airport (SAT), highlighting sustained recovery trends following the pandemic period. Passenger numbers rose 569% to 685,456 versus May 2020, with growth also observed compared to April 2021. Cargo activity totaled 23,137,762 pounds, increasing 23% year over year, supporting regional economic resilience. The report details domestic and international capacity and passenger changes versus May 2019, plus route and schedule updates for airlines serving SAT.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Making Strides Towards Recovery

Domestic Passengers

International Passengers

May Schedule Changes

Exhibit A - May 2021 vs 2020

Exhibit B - May 2021 vs 2019

To: From: Copies: Subject: Date: SUMMARY May 2021 Statistical Report Jesus Saenz, Aviation Director Brian Pratte, Chief Air Service and Marketing Officer San Antonio Regional Stakeholders May 2021 Monthly Statistics June 29 , 2021 MAKING STRIDES TOWARDS RECOVERY San Antonio International Airport (SAT)’s passenger numbers grew 569% to 685,456 when compared to the same month in 2020. This is the first time that passenger numbers have exceeded 600,000 since the pandemic started. When compared to the month prior, April 2021, passenger numbers grew 25% . This growth indicates continued recovery; however, it is important to compare these numbers to the same month in 2019. When compared to May 2019, passenger numbers were down 24%, although current trends show ongoing growth. San Antonio International Airport’s strong growth towards recovery in March 2021 has continued through April and May 2021. As San Antonio and the country continue to come out of the pandemic, it is anticipated passenger numbers will continue to grow towards recovery. Additionally, a total of 23,137,762 pounds of air cargo moved through SAT in May 2021 , up 23% compared to May 2020 and in line with air cargo levels from the previous month. The cargo growth SAT has seen further supports the economic resiliency apparent in the San Antonio region. (Please see Exhibit A (May 2021 vs 2020) & Exhibit B (May 2021 vs 2019) for a detailed breakdown of all passenger and cargo stats) Leisure travel to San Antonio continued to help in the recovery of passenger numbers for SAT. May saw continued recovery in this area with many tourist attractions across the city seeing revenue at or above 2019 levels during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. DOMESTIC PASSENGERS SAT continues to compare passenger numbers to 2019 levels to better understand and monitor the recovery. Scheduled domestic capacity, or seats, decreased 21%, or 111,534 seats in May 2021 compared to the same month in 2019, with a total of 424,513 monthly departure seats. When compared to the prior month, April 2021, scheduled domestic capacity increased 17%, or an additional 62,343 seats. Fueled by pent up demand, multiple routes from SAT saw increases in capacity when compared to May 2019. Service to Salt Lake City (SLC), Phoenix (PHX), Detroit (DTW), Charlotte (CLT), Denver (DEN), and Miami (MIA) all had more capacity from SAT even if the number of flights were down compared to May 2019. Many routes from SAT saw an increase in frequency and capacity from April 2021 to May 2021 as more people returned to traveling. In addition to this, airlines also resumed nonstop service to cities that were suspended due to the pandemic. May 2021 saw the resumption of service to Los Angeles (LAX) on American Airlines (AA), Orlando-Sanford (SFD) on Allegiant (G4), and Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) on Sun Country (SY) . | May 2021 vs. May 2019 | | | | --- | --- | --- | | Airline | Seat Capacity Change | Passenger Change | | Alaska Airlines | 0% | (9%) | | Allegiant Air | (39%) | (44%) | | American Airlines | (8%) | (15%) | | Delta Air Lines | 3% | (19%) | | Frontier Airlines | (56%) | (58%) | | Southwest Airlines | (39%) | (36%) | | United Airlines | (51%) | (50%) | INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS After a complete halt in international travel from SAT in April 2020, international passengers slowly started returning in May 2020. One year later, SAT has seen significant increases in both capacity and passenger numbers to and from Mexico since the pandemic started. SAT’s scheduled international capacity increased by 134% when comparing May 2021 to May 2019 while passenger numbers increased 107% . Due to many factors including the closed land border, demand to and from Mexico from SAT has recovered and increased quickly. SAT ranked \#1 among all U.S. medium-hub airports in terms of total seats to Mexico for May 2021. When looking at all U.S. airports, SAT ranked \#10 . SAT saw many flights to Mexico i

FAQs

How much did SAT passenger numbers grow in May 2021 compared with May 2020?

SAT passenger numbers grew 569% to 685,456 compared with the same month in 2020. The report notes this is the first time passenger counts exceeded 600,000 since the pandemic began.

What were the May 2021 air cargo totals and year-over-year change?

A total of 23,137,762 pounds of air cargo moved through SAT in May 2021. This was up 23% compared to May 2020 and aligned with the previous month’s air cargo levels.

How did international capacity and passenger numbers change versus May 2019?

Scheduled international capacity increased 134% versus May 2019, and passenger numbers increased 107%. The report attributes recovery to demand returning, including factors related to Mexico travel.

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Đào