The number of people flying through Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport increased less than half as fast as it did in 2006, as Southwest Airlines, the dominant carrier at BWI, ratcheted down growth.
A record 21.04 million passengers passed through BWI last year, representing a 1.7 percent increase in annual traffic, airport officials reported yesterday. In 2006, traffic grew by 4.8 percent, to 20.7 million people.
Fears of a recession and soaring fuel prices leading to higher airfares depressed travel activity in 2007, said Timothy L. Campbell, executive director of the Maryland Aviation Administration, which oversees BWI.
"When fares go up, demand goes down," Campbell said. "I think 2008 is going to be a slow year just based on national economic trends. We're going to continue to see fares trend upward."
The 2006 increase also came after a year that saw passenger traffic at BWI drop as super-low-cost carrier Independence Air began rival service from Washington Dulles International Airport. Independence failed in January 2006.
Southwest, which flies more than half of all passengers at BWI, slowed its growth rate here to 3.3 percent in 2007, down from 10.1 percent in 2006. It flew just over 11 million passengers through Baltimore last year.
"They are trimming capacity going into what they believe will be a slower growth period," Campbell said.
"I would much rather see the airlines reduce service and remain financially healthy in the long run," Campbell said.
The discount carrier slashed transcontinental nonstop service from BWI to cities such as Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif., this fall. In May, Southwest will cut seven more daily flights out of Baltimore, while adding only one departure, to Albuquerque, N.M. The airline will then have 166 daily departures at BWI, down from the 172 flights it has now.
"There's nothing that's radical that's happening to the Baltimore schedule," Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary C. Kelly said in a phone interview. "We hope to restart growth as we get used to a higher cost structure."
The fastest growing airline at BWI last year was AirTran Airways, the airport's second largest carrier. AirTran flew nearly 2.5 million passengers through BWI in 2007, a 16.4 percent increase.
The discount carrier added new nonstop service to Portland, Maine, and seasonal service to Seattle and three Florida cities, Daytona Beach, Miami and West Palm Beach.
New nonstop destinations from Baltimore should be announced in the coming weeks, said, a spokeswoman for AirTran, which has its base in Orlando, Fla.
Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., also posted a record number of passengers last year, with an estimated 18.7 million passengers, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority reported yesterday.
Dulles, in Chantilly, Va., handled 24.7 million passengers, making 2007 its second-busiest year.
laura.mccandlish@baltsun.com
The Associated Press contributed to this article.