Airport Sees Record Numbers for Beginning of 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 19, 2008, New Orleans – The NBA All-Star Game resulted in another post-Katrina record day for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

Reports from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on the total number of people who were processed through security after the NBA All-Star game resulted in the third largest post-storm for passengers processed through the security screening lines. The top five have all occurred in the past 8 weeks. Sugar Bowl, BCS Championship Game, Mardi Gras and NBA All-Star have resulted in a significant increase in passenger traffic in 2008. On a normal Sunday prior to Katrina, the Airport saw approximately 17,500 passengers depart the city.

#1 January 8, 2008 BCS Game 19,188

#2 January 2, 2008 Sugar Bowl 17,292

#3 February 18, 2008 NBA All-Star Game 16,750

#4 February 1, 2008 Mardi Gras (Friday before) 15,973

#5 February 6, 2008 Mardi Gras (day after) 15,968

#6 May 7, 2007 Jazz Fest (2^nd weekend) 15,868

#7 November 13, 2007 Ophthalmologists 15,823

#8 July 8, 2007 Essence 15,767

#9 February 4, 2008 Mardi Gras (day before) 15,570

#10 July 9, 2007 Essence 15,472

TSA reported one brief period during the day when the wait time for one of the checkpoints exceeded 20 minutes. The average wait time throughout the day was 4 minutes. The Airport attributes the low wait times to the fact that passengers were asked to arrive early and did so. The early arrivals spread the loads more evenly throughout the day as passenger arrivals were staggered and allowed easy flow through the terminal building.

The Hudson Group, the airport’s master concessionaire for retail, reported a day of record sales as well. Sales for Hudson Group exceeded pre-Katrina sales as the All-Star fans gathered up New Orleans souvenirs before boarding flights home.

Sean Hunter, Director of Aviation stated, “This was a great beginning to 2008 with six (6) record days over the past few weeks. Each of these peak days were similar to busy pre-storm travel days. After experiencing 21% growth in 2007, to see 2008 begin this way is a great indicator that the upward trend will continue.”

By May, Armstrong International will have service to 38 destinations on 139 daily flight departures with 16,451 seats.

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For further information, contact Michelle C. Wilcut, Public Relations Manager, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, at 504-464-3547 or 504-628-0250 (cell).