Huntsville Airport poised to set a new record for the third straight year
Huntsville Real-Time News (AL.com) - Published: December 16, 2025, 11:37 a.m. - By Scott Turner | sturner@al.com
Huntsville International Airport posted a slight dip in passenger numbers for November compared with the same month last year, but airport leadership remains confident that a new yearly high is on the horizon.
CEO Butch Roberts characterized November’s performance as a modest fall—about 3.9%—while emphasizing ongoing recovery. “The trend is upward,” he said. “We’ve been up every day in December, so the worst appears to be over.”
November recorded 134,400 travelers, down from 139,782 in November 2024. Yet year-to-date figures remain positive, up roughly 5.5% relative to last year’s record year, with more than 1.5 million passengers traveling through the airport by the end of November.
If the current momentum continues, Huntsville International Airport is on track to surpass its annual passenger record for the third consecutive year. The airport set records in 2023 (1,473,629 passengers) and 2024 (1,635,589).
Roberts told AL.com that the federal government shutdown may have contributed to the November dip, noting that airlines cancelled flights during the shutdown, which ended early in December. “The impact was temporary,” he said.
Among carriers, American Airlines saw a 17% drop in Huntsville passengers last month—the only carrier with a decrease. In contrast, Breeze Airways—a low-cost carrier—experienced a gain of more than 20%.
November marked the first month in eight to fail to exceed 2024’s numbers, though the airport has outpaced last year’s totals in nine of the 11 months so far in 2025.
The airport did enjoy a roughly 10% increase in available seats compared with November 2024, a factor Roberts has cited in previous interviews as contributing to the record-setting years.
In contrast, rail activity at the airport declined nearly 37.5% year over year for November, though annual lifts rose by 0.7%. Air cargo reached more than 6.1 million pounds in November—up 1% from 2024—but remains down 14.4% for the year overall.
Roberts offered a broader economic perspective, suggesting global economic conditions and tariff policies may influence cargo trends more than the shutdown did. “Air cargo is trending upward, but it’s tied to the wider economy,” he said.
Construction remains a central feature of Huntsville International, with nine major projects currently underway. Robins & Morton Group is handling a $6.7 million concourse project, after receiving a permit on November 10.
This work follows a $14 million renovation of the main concourse, completed recently as part of an ongoing upgrade program. Robins & Morton is also managing two additional projects: a $14.4 million, 21,000-square-foot Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Station slated for completion in spring 2027, and a $57 million parking deck expansion that will add more than 1,400 parking spaces. The deck currently accommodates 2,394 vehicles, with construction potentially starting in January.
Scott Turner covers growth and economic development for AL.com and the Huntsville Times. His reporting spans politics, environment, military, and veteran affairs, among other topics.
