Progress toward a thriving Minnesota

2023 Annual Report

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A record year for winter operations

MAC Field Maintenance crews clear snow off the airfield at MSP Airport. 

- Photo 1: Five snowplows clear snow from the airfield at MSP Airport. - Photo 1: Five snowplows clear snow from the airfield at MSP Airport.

MAC crews logged extensive time over the winter of 2022-23 clearing snow at MSP Airport after the region received 90.3" of snow over the season. 

- Photo 2: A snowplow pushes a mound of snow toward the foreground. - Photo 2: A snowplow pushes a mound of snow toward the foreground.

During the winter of 2022-23, MAC crews logged many multi-day callouts and more than 50 nights to remove snow and ensure safe and efficient aircraft operations MSP Airport and MAC Reliever airports. 

- Photo 3: An aircraft is barely visible behind a cloud of blowing snow and a snowplow. - Photo 3: An aircraft is barely visible behind a cloud of blowing snow and a snowplow.

Over the winter of 2022-23, MSP logged 90.3” of snow – a near record for seasonal snowfall accumulation. The MAC crews logged more than 50 nights during these challenging winter events to ensure continued operations at MSP and the general aviation airports. The accumulation was so great that the airport’s snow pile – affectionately dubbed Mount MAC – reached over 80 feet and didn’t fully melt away until July.

Air service nears pre-pandemic levels

 

MSP buzzed with passenger activity in 2023, serving more than 34.7 million passengers. This was an increase of 11% from 2022, closing in on the record of 39.5 million passengers set in 2019. Airlines served 156 nonstop destinations from MSP in 2023 – up from 145 destinations in 2022.

Much of this growth was driven by a 47% boost in international passengers. MSP continued to see growing demand for travel overseas, to Canada, and to warm and sunny destinations across Mexico and the Caribbean. 

Domestic travel also continued to climb. MSP hosted nearly 31.8 million domestic travelers in 2023, up 9% from 29.2 million domestic travelers in 2022.

2023 air service highlights include:

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines saw a 9.8% increase in passengers. The airline resumed daily, nonstop service to Japan’s Tokyo-Haneda Airport (HND) in March 2023, after being suspended due to the pandemic since March 2020. A critical connection for Minnesota businesses, nonstop service to Tokyo started in 1947. About 17,000 passengers fly from MSP to Tokyo each year. 

Sun Country

Sun Country Airlines saw a 16.9% increase in passengers. The hometown airline continued to increase service at MSP, adding 17 routes in 2023. This includes MSP’s first-ever service to Melbourne, Florida; Wilmington, North Carolina; and Branson, Missouri. Sun Country has more than doubled its routes from MSP in just six years, from 40 destinations in 2017 to 86 in 2023. 

WestJet

MSP welcomed WestJet, its 16th carrier, this summer. Canada’s second-largest airline began operating nonstop flights from MSP to Edmonton and Saskatoon.

Icelandair

Icelandair celebrated its 25th year serving MSP passengers. It started providing flights to Iceland and connections to Europe for Upper Midwest travelers in 1998, and the Reykjavik flights remain a popular choice for travelers.