BANGOR, Maine — It’s no secret more people are comfortable traveling again as vaccination rates against the coronavirus rise. Due to this, some of Maine's largest airports are on track to be the busiest they've ever been.
"We are seeing record levels of capacity scheduled into the market for July and August," says Portland International Jetport assistant director Zachary Sundquist.
292,000 seats were available for purchase in July and roughly 300,000 seats are available for the month of August, according to airport officials. This record was last set in 2018. This year, the month of July had 6,000 more seats than it did in July of 2018 and 4,000 more seats compared to August of 2018.
“Our airline partners have been making significant investments into the market," adds Sundquist. "We’ve added a lot of new nonstop destinations that are really focused on leisure demand and making it easier for people to get to Maine to vacation.”
Sundquist tells NEWS CENTER Maine, the airport had 188,558 passengers in the month of June. In the same month of 2019, the jetport had 209,164 inbound and outbound passengers.
Officials at the Bangor International Airport say they’re busier than they thought they would be this summer. They want travelers headed to the airport to keep a few things in mind to ensure easy traveling.
"Arrive two hours before," says airport marketing director Aimee Thibodeau. "I know that we’re Bangor and people think, ‘oh well, I can get there in an hour or half-hour before my flight and be fine,” which really isn’t the case during the summer. We’re very busy. Be prepared with your ID. Make sure your ID and tickets have matching names on them.
The Bangor International Airport hasn’t released June passenger data yet. Thibodeau tells NEWS CENTER Maine they’re on pace to come close to 2019 travel numbers. It's something airport officials didn't expect to do until next year.