PITTSTON TWP. — Boardings at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport were down 3.5% last month compared to August 2024, driven by a drop in American Airlines boardings.
But August’s modest overall decrease compared to the same month the year prior isn’t alarming airport officials on the heels of persistently positive passenger activity trends. Airport Director Carl Beardsley Jr., who shared the boarding figures Thursday during his monthly report to members of the bicounty airport board, acknowledged after the session that “there’s always ebbs and flows.”
Last month’s boardings at AVP, the Pittston Twp. airport’s Federal Aviation Administration code name, totaled 22,643, down from 23,451 in August 2024. American Airlines boardings totaled 15,256 in August 2024 and 12,288 last month, an almost 19.5% drop that contributed to the roughly 3.5% overall decrease in boardings between the two months, per figures Beardsley shared with the board.
Boardings on Breeze Airways and United Airlines flights at AVP were up 59.6% and 7% last month, respectively, compared to the same month the year prior, Beardsley’s figures showed.
The broader positive boarding trend at AVP has been well documented this year after total boardings in 2024 climbed considerably, by 30.9%, compared to 2023. Overall passenger enplanements for June and July were up nearly 15% and roughly 10.3%, respectively, compared to June and July 2024.
Among other 2025 examples, April saw a 26.4% increase in boardings compared to April 2024, driven largely by a more than 300% increase in boardings on Breeze flights, while boardings in January and February increased 47.6% and 32.8%, respectively, compared to January and February of 2024.
Officials have credited Breeze, the airport’s newest carrier that launched its first flight from AVP to Orlando in January 2024, with contributing significantly to the positive passenger trends. Breeze followed up the Orlando service last year by adding local service from AVP to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and two additional Florida services from AVP to Fort Myers and Tampa.
The overall boarding numbers include passengers traveling from AVP via a motorcoach service to connect with flights out of Philadelphia International Airport. American Airlines, operating the motorcoach service as part of its partnership with the Landline Company, began running those round trips between the two airports more than a year ago.