The 10 Busiest Airports in Michigan Might Surprise You
Like most industries, air travel took a nosedive (pardon the pun) during the pandemic. But the latest figures released by the Federal Aviation Administration show that the numbers of passengers boarding planes in Michigan began a significant rebound in 2021.
Several airports in Michigan more than doubled their outgoing passenger numbers last year as compared to 2020.
Manistee County Blacker Airport saw a year-over-year increase of more than 733% from 2020 to 2021, from 613 outgoing passengers to 5,108. Other Michigan airports that more than doubled their number of outgoing flyers from 2020 to 2021 include Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport (600%), Oakland County International Airport in Pontiac (351%), Southwest Michigan Regional Airport in Benton Harbor (150%), Muskegon County Airport (129%), Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City (106%), and West Michigan Regional Airport in Holland (100%).
The latest numbers also reveal that some airports in the state, while detrimentally affected by the pandemic, didn't take as hard of a hit as others. Flint's Bishop International Airport saw a year-over-year increase in outgoing passenger numbers from 2020 to 2021 of around 37%. Lansing's Capital Region International Airport saw a 40% increase, while Ford Airport in Iron Mountain was up roughly 42%.
One might think that the busiest airports in Michigan would be adjacent to or near its largest cities. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is obviously the state's busiest, but how do Michigan's airports stack up after that?
Here are the top ten busiest airports in Michigan for 2021, ranked by the number of passengers they boarded on outbound planes.