Tampa International Airport reports passenger count increase

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Passengers flying out of Tampa International Airport increased by 6.7 percent in fiscal year 2015, the largest increase since 2008.

The airport served nearly 18.5 million passengers, compared to 17.3 million passengers in 2014. The fiscal year ended Sept. 30.

The Tampa Tribune (http://bit.ly/1NKdpY3) reports that this is the fifth year in a row the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority has seen year-over-year passenger growth rates. It is also the largest growth in a decade.

Airport officials say growth in both domestic and international markets contributed to the strong performance, with the airport seeing a 14.9 percent jump in international passenger numbers and a 6.4 percent jump in domestic passengers.

Serving 684,799 international passengers, Tampa International Airport has now seen a 73 percent growth in such traffic since 2010.