The number of passengers at Martha’s Vineyard Airport continues to climb, with 2024 surpassing the previous record year by a few hundred people.
Last year, 81,666 passengers came through the airport, setting a new high point in the terminal’s 66-year history. Though this is the second year in a row that the airport has broken its passenger record, airport officials believe this may be the ceiling for the facility, which can’t handle larger planes that land at other major airports.
“Overall we probably will just see minor growth, if anything, going forward,” said Geoff Freeman, the Martha’s Vineyard Airport director. “We are really kind of maxed out with the size of the aircraft that come here.”
The previous record in 2023 was 81,283 passengers — a number that is higher than what was reported last year due to an airport clerical error. Before that, the busiest year at the airport was 1999, when about 74,000 came to the terminal.
The rising number of passengers comes as the airport finalizes plans for a terminal expansion. The airport is proposing a 15,000 square foot expansion to the 1998 terminal building in order to enclose the departures’ area and give the Transportation Security Administration more room to screen passengers.
Mr. Freeman has emphasized that the terminal expansion is to better accommodate the current traffic at the airport, not to lure in more airlines.
In 2024, about 41,000 planes came through the airport, a 3 per cent increase over 2023. The number is in line with years past.
The busiest month of the year in 2024 was, predictably, August, with 26,657 passengers. July was a close second, clocking in just under 23,000 passengers.
Flights significantly drop off in the off-season. Only Cape Air and its nine-seat planes offers commercial flights from November through February.
The airport could see some flight patterns change in 2025 due to shifts in the aviation industry.
JetBlue, which flies several different routes across the northeast in the summer, is changing the type of plane it uses on the Vineyard. The company, which in the past has flown 100-seat planes, is adding a bigger 140-seat plane to the Vineyard routes this summer, Mr. Freeman said. He expects the airline will carry the same total number of passengers, but over fewer trips.
American Airlines, another seasonal service, is proposing to up its Philadelphia flights from only on the weekends to daily service.
Mr. Freeman was pleased with 2024 and expects 2025 will continue to be the same as long as the economy stays strong.
“It was pretty on par this season as it was the year before,” Mr. Freeman said. “It all really depends on what the world climate is for travel.”
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