Thousands of passengers flew out of Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport Friday, as families fled central New York for winter break. Many of those passengers were from areas like Ithaca, Watertown and Elmira, reflecting a trend that’s led to record growth at the Syracuse airport.
According to the airport's annual report, 2.86 million travelers passed through Hancock in 2023, the most in airport history. Much of this growth is the result of decisions made by airlines to cut back on the number of smaller regional aircraft at smaller airports and start using larger mainline aircraft in Syracuse. Airport spokesman Matt Szwejbka said there’s a direct link between a reduction in traffic at the smaller regional airports and Syracuse’s record numbers.
"There are some markets, such as Binghamton, where all people who are flying on an airplane, either into or out of what we call the Binghamton DMA, the Binghamton Market Area, over 50% of them flow through Syracuse now," Szwejbka said. "That's big. That shows how much of an impact the airline's decisions at the national level are having at our local level."
A greater number of these larger planes out of Syracuse also means it is now the second largest airport, in terms of passengers, along the Thruway, recently surpassing the Rochester and Albany airports.
This growth means the terminal expansion underway at Hancock, is vital according to Szwejbka. He notes plans to renovate the parking garage are also being reconsidered, because the economy lot, meant to be used during the work, is now filling up on a regular basis.
“We're going to have to look at the phasing and we are currently reevaluating what that phasing looks like," Szwejbka said. "For example, maybe maybe take down half of the garage at once and suppose to the total garage and losing all of those spots. So those discussions are actively underway."
Renovation plans that include bump outs in passenger sections of the airport and security, are expected to be complete by 2026.
