Louisville's airport sees record number of passengers as it invests $126 million in upgrades

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- 2023 was a record year for the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.

It saw more than 4.6 million passengers came through the airport last year, a 10% increase over 2019, the last busiest year.

"People that don't live here have a reason to say, 'oh, I got a great fare, I can go and actually fly to Louisville and experience 'bourbonism' and all the great things that we have here to offer, but also the locals to be able to take a vacation," Dan Mann, executive director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority said.

The airport has invested $126 million in new bathrooms, moving walkways, the command center and the new baggage handling system.

Mann acknowledged the growing pains.

"We hear a lot about, gosh, I got off the airplane," Mann said. "It's a quick walk to the baggage claim, but I have to wait for my bags."

New technology will track when the plane lands and the very first bag that gets to the baggage claim.

The airport also added lanes in the security checkpoint, turning an hour long wait into 15-25 minutes, depending on the time of the day.

More investments this year will focus on improving the taxiway and runway, parking garage and the ticketing and rental car counters.

But the biggest excitement surrounds a new Federal Inspection Services (FIS) facility that would allow for international travel.

"During Derby timeframe, probably some European traffic, maybe some Asia traffic that will come in if we have the FIS, so we're really excited about getting this program going," Mann said.

And as Derby 150 and the PGA Championship approaches airport leaders are hopeful this year will be even bigger and better.

"It's looking like it's going to be a record, but we know the capacity inbound," Mann said. "Again, we're already talking to the airlines. It's gonna be an unbelievable thing to see."

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