The Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport may have set a new single-day passenger record following the 152nd Kentucky Derby.
Around 20,000 passengers — an estimate based on the number of available seats on each flight — were expected to depart from SDF May 3, spokesperson Natalie Chaudoin said. The estimated number marks an 8% increase from 2025, when SDF saw around 18,500 departing passengers. On an average busy day, SDF will see around 9,000-10,000 departing passengers.
“For this year, there were more than 140 passenger service flights departing from SDF on Sunday, May 3,” Chaudoin said. “For comparison, on average, there are 80 to 85 departing flights at SDF on a busy day.”
Chaudoin said traffic into and out of Louisville for the Kentucky Derby is “SDF’s busiest time each year,” with the airport seeing the most traffic on the Thursday before and the Sunday after the event.
To accommodate for the increase in travel, airlines added 23 routes from Louisville to destinations that are not regularly served. Of those added, American Airlines made up over half, with the airline including additional flights to Austin, Houston and Los Angeles. American Airlines also added flights to both John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York.
Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines routes made up the other 10 added.
According to an April 13 news release, Spirit Airlines had also added a route from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey before officials announced May 2 that the airline would cease operations.
