PEORIA (25News Now) – Peoria International Airport is celebrating a new monthly passenger record for December, as well as a yearly record for 2025.
The finalized reports show that December 2025 set a new monthly record with a total of 70,672 passengers at PIA. This record-breaking month also helped push past the all-time annual record of 812,396 total passengers.
The total amount of passengers increased by 18.15% when compared to 2024, it also surpasses the airport’s previous record which was set back in 2019 by almost 18%.
These new records mark a new period of growth for PIA, which has not been seen in over two decades. A passenger record has been set in 15 of the past 17 months.
“This moment represents far more than a record number,” said Gene Olson, the director of airports for the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria. “PIA today is not the airport it was 30 years ago—or even 15 years ago. We have evolved alongside our community, and these numbers confirm that Central Illinois is choosing to fly through PIA! This is a new era for our airport and for the region we serve.”
Leaders at PIA believe that this growth shows the airport not only recovering from the pandemic, but even surpassing the growth of that time.
The announcement comes at a time when the airport is still working towards expansion, with Phase 1 of the Air Traffic Control Tower project nearing completion. Phase 2 is also set to begin in May.
The project represents a $25.5 million investment in local infrastructure Other projects in the works include the Taxiway Alpha Rehabilitation and a new parking facility along Dirksen Parkway.
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