BWI Marshall sets international passenger record

Travelers wait in line at the Southwest ticket check in at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on August 15, 2015. BWI Marshall Airport broke its own record in July for the number of commercial passengers traveling through the airport. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)(Getty Images/Rob Carr)

BWI Marshall Airport set a record with the amount of international traffic it received in 2023, according to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s office.

While the vast majority of international flights in the D.C. region are from Dulles, BWI Marshall has been adding more global routes. The Maryland-based airport saw nearly 1.4 million international passengers — 2.6% higher than the previous record set in 2018.

“BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport is a key economic driver and international gateway for our region,” Moore said in a news release. “We’re making Maryland more competitive, and BWI is helping us lead the way by boosting tourism, creating jobs, and expanding business opportunities for our communities.”

New international airlines serving BWI Marshall include Copa Airlines, Icelandair and PLAY Airlines.

Southwest Airlines started nonstops from BWI to Belize earlier this month. BermudAir began nonstops to Bermuda this month. Other airlines serving international routes from BWI include Avelo Airlines, Condor, Air Canada and British Airways.

Overall passenger traffic at BWI Marshall, including domestic and international flights, totaled 26.3 million in 2023 — a 15% increase over 2022. The Baltimore airport is the busiest in the D.C. region, and passenger traffic is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels this year.

Reagan National and Dulles set a combined record for passengers in 2023, at 50.6 million. Reagan National itself set a record of 25.5 million passengers — up 6.2% from 2022.

Dulles is one of the fastest-growing airports in the country for international flights. It had a record 9.3 million international passengers last year — up 26.9% from 2022. Overall passenger count at Dulles last year was 25.1 million, topping 2019.

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Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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