CAE surpasses busiest May in airport history seeing over 65,000 passengers
June 26, 2026
Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) recorded its busiest May in airport history – supporting 65,411 passengers with their air travel needs. The previous record for the busiest May was in 2005, when the airport saw 63,522 travelers pass through the terminal.
“With more Midlands residents opting to fly local, our airline partners are positively responding to this demand by increasing seat capacity in the market and increasing the aircraft size for certain routes,” said Kim Crafton, Vice President of Marketing & Air Service Development.
In addition to being the busiest May on record for the airport, there was also a 4% increase Year-over-Year from May 2025, which saw 62,800 passengers. Year-to-Date through May 31, 2026, passenger traffic was up 5.52% – a positive trend airport leadership is hopeful will continue.
“In the coming weeks we’ll have five daily nonstop flights to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) – between United Airlines and American Airlines,” continued Crafton. “These added routes, along with our seasonal service to Miami International Airport (MIA) on American Airlines and daily service to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) on United Airlines, these additions help keep local travelers flying from CAE rather than driving to another airport.”
Another route seeing a bump in capacity is CAE’s nonstop service to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). In August and September, American Airlines will upgauge – or increase – their aircraft size to an Airbus A319. This aircraft will be configured to have a first-class cabin, powered seats, Wi-Fi capabilities and in-flight entertainment.
“This continued air service growth provides more options for the traveling community to utilize their local airport; and the more they do, the more air service we’ll continue to see,” said Crafton.
For more information about CAE’s nonstop destinations, please visit www.FlyCAE.com.
About the Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE)
Now providing 30+ daily flights with nonstop service to 10 major airports in 9 cities including Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York City (LGA), Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. (Dulles and Reagan National), Miami and Newark. Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), a two-time Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC) STAR™ accredited facility, continues to be a major economic driver for the Midlands region. Proudly welcoming over 1.3 million passengers in 2025, CAE is served by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, and serves as a regional cargo hub for UPS and served by cargo carrier, FedEx.
