An increase in international travelers at Minneapolis-St. Paul airport is bringing travel numbers closer to pre-pandemic levels.
According to the Metropolitan Airports Commission, three million passengers traveled to or from overseas destinations last year and that trend is continuing with an announcement this week that direct service to Dublin and Frankfurt will resume out of Minneapolis.
Kyle Potter with Thrifty Traveler says more investments from international airlines is a sign of a healthy rebound for MSP.
"The airport really it is busier than ever," says Potter. "Every holiday and spring break from 2022 onward, they're seeing more passengers than ever before and I don't think that's going to slow down anytime soon."
This increase comes after an announcement from the Ireland-based Aer Lingus that they will resume direct service to Dublin out of MSP after a four-year pause. Delta, which dominates domestic and international travel out of MSP has already matched them with a nonstop flight too.
Thrifty Traveler has already tracked Aer Lingus flights out of MSP as low as $357 round trip in May.
Potter says they aren't the only airline making investments in Minneapolis.
"Lufthansa is going to start nonstop flights for the first time ever from Minneapolis to Frankfurt," says Potter. "And then there are all of these other smaller pieces. Sun Country, you know, continuing to grow really fast, Delta adding additional nonstop flights."
The latest data from the Metropolitan Airports Commission shows the total passengers coming through MSP now is up 14% from this time last year. Potter says currently the total number passengers coming through MSP in 2024 is only down 1.5% from 2019.