MAC Facts: 2021 - MSP Year in Review

Last year the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) continued its progress toward recovery from the on-going impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, surpassing 25 million total passengers, about a 70 percent increase over 2020. This remains about 36 percent lower than 2019, when MSP capped 10 years of total passenger growth setting a record of 39.5 million passengers.

In 2021 there were a total of 303,884 operations at MSP, as reported by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). While this does represent about a 20 percent increase from 2020, operations remain about 25 percent below operations in 2019. Nighttime activity also increased over 2020, from an average of 34 operations a night in 2020 to an average of 41 operations nightly in 2021.

The fleet that is returning to MSP is comprised of aircraft that are newer and quieter than previous counterparts. The CRJ-900, CRJ-200, and the B737-800 were the most flown aircraft in 2021. Our Meet the Fleet series provides information about two of these aircraft (CRJ-900 and B737-800). More information about fleet mix and operations is available in the annual 2021 MSP Fleet Mix and Nighttime Operations Report.

With an increase in flights, sound events attributable to aircraft also increased. The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) collects sound data at 39 sites, located in the neighborhoods underlying the flight paths of aircraft arriving at and departing from MSP. For the entire year, the amount of time above 65 decibels (dB) at these sites was up about 25 percent compared to 2020, although was still down about 37 percent compared to 2019. In addition to this permanent system of monitoring sites, the MAC also conducted a mobile sound monitoring study in 2021 in the City of Minnetonka. More information is available in the Minnetonka Mobile Sound Monitoring Report.

Communities are noticing  as operations continue to recover and airport activity resumes closer to normal levels. In 2021, MSP received 127,578 complaints from 996 households, a 21 percent increase in the number of households filing complaints and a 28 percent increase in the number of complaints received compared to 2020. More information is available in the 2021 MSP Complaint Data Assessment. These complaints were filed through our online system, by sending an email or by calling the noise hotline (612-726-9411). In addition to complaints that are filed and reported in the complaint report, the Community Relations Office communicates with residents when they have questions or concerns. Last year, staff communicated with 465 residents (regarding MSP as well as our reliever airports) for a total of 235 hours.

The Noise Oversight Committee (NOC) met seven times and held four community listening sessions to connect with residents and provide information about the activity at MSP. More information is available on the NOC Work Plans and Accomplishments webpage.