More than 455,000 passengers flew to and from Lafayette last year, breaking the record set in 2010.
More passengers traveled through Lafayette Regional Airport in 2011 than ever before. The 455,377 passengers flying into and out of the airport broke the record of 448,226 passengers set in 2010.
The pace appears to be continuing, as December also broke a record when 18,479 passengers boarded planes at the airport and another 18,202 passengers arrived in Lafayette.
Load factors, the number of passengers flying on an airline compared to the number of seats available, continued to be higher than average in December for all carriers. Leading the way was Delta Connection/Atlanta with 87.6 percent of seats filled, followed by American Eagle with 78.9 percent, Allegiant Airlines with 78.2 percent and Continental Express with 75.1 percent.
Cargo numbers for the year - 10,857,077 pounds enplaned and 13,683,161 pounds deplaned - remained high as well, though they were down from 10,863,791 and 14,073,073, respectively, in 2010.