Salt Lake City—It’s official. The Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) has hit a new high with a record number of passengers reported during 2023.

From January 1 through December 31, 2023, the airport recorded 26,952,754 passengers. This surpasses the previous record of 26,808,014 passengers in 2019. The growth can be attributed primarily to an increase in the number of international passengers. The number of domestic passengers in 2023 totaled 25,629,460, compared to the previous high in 2019 of 25,692,153. While the number of international passengers reached a new record of 1,323,294 in 2023, compared to 1,115,861 in 2019.

“Three plus years ago when The New SLC opened its doors I couldn’t have predicted such a tremendous rebound in passenger traffic,” said Bill Wyatt, executive director, Salt Lake City Department of Airports (SLCDA). “The robust Utah economy has certainly played a role in the growth as has the incredible partnership with our hub carrier, Delta Air Lines, and the connectivity they provide, with their global partners throughout Canada, Europe and Mexico.”

Delta Air Lines currently offers nonstop European service between SLC and Amsterdam, London and Paris. Delta’s and Aeromexico’s flights to Mexican destinations have performed exceptionally well especially during the pandemic. In addition, KLM provides seasonal nonstop service from SLC to Amsterdam, while Discover provided seasonal nonstop service to Frankfurt in 2022 and 2023.

The former SLC airport, which closed in fall 2020, was built to accommodate 10 million passengers and was operating at nearly three times its capacity in 2019. The New SLC Airport is designed to accommodate 34 million passengers at the full build out of Phase 4, which is anticipated to open in late 2026.

SLC is the 21^st busiest airport in the United States and the 70^th busiest in the world. Currently, nearly 300 flights depart daily to 90 plus nonstop destinations. SLC is currently undergoing a $5.1 billion redevelopment program. Phase 3 of The New SLC is scheduled to open fall 2024 to include the new Central Tunnel, Concourse B Plaza and initially five gates along with 12 concessions.