Travelers check in for flights Thursday at the Medford airport. Airlines canceled incoming flights Wednesday night due to fog, which led to delayed departing flights Thursday morning.

Airline passenger numbers rebounded at the end of the year for the Medford airport after a slow start, with more flyers in November and December than for the same months in 2022.

However, passenger numbers for 2023 — which saw 979,221 flyers — were down 5% overall compared to the year before.

In December, a total of 81,263 flyers either arrived or departed via the six carriers that serve the airport. That number was up 7% compared to 75,769 in December 2022. For November, passenger numbers were up 4% to 85,783 versus 82,350 in 2022.

“We had great holidays,” Amber Judd, the airport director, said. “People just wanted to travel, but the holidays helped for sure.”

Christmas and New Year’s falling on Mondays helped people take advantage of long weekends, she said.

For Thanksgiving weekend, traveler numbers were up 12% over 2022, Judd said. From Wednesday through Sunday of Thanksgiving week, the Transportation Security Administration screened a total of 8,515 departing passengers — an average of 1,703 per day. The average departure number per day for November was 1,439.

Christmas travel was a little more spread out than what was seen at Thanksgiving, Judd said. Friday, Dec. 22, and Friday, Dec. 29, each saw more than 1,800 people go through the screening checkpoints for departure. The longest wait time at the TSA checkpoints was 22 minutes.

The last two months reversed a trend, stretching from February through October, of fewer passengers over the prior year’s totals.

Passenger numbers in February were down 4% over 2022; in March, 19%; in April, 13%; in May, 11%; in June, 9%; in July, 7%; in August, 7%; in September, 3%; and in October, 2%.

In the first six months, passenger numbers were down 9% compared to 2022; after nine months, they were down 7%.

Earlier stories cited a variety of factors. Among them were a lack of pilots, airlines using planes on more profitable routes, a slower economy, higher ticket prices, higher fuel prices and a softer economy in the Rogue Valley.

In 2022, the airport had 1,031,693 passengers. In 2018, there were 1,010,920 passengers, the first year the airport topped one million. There were 1,087,873 passengers in 2019, the highest year. Large dips. occurred in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The airport has appeared busy so far in January. The month typically sees a drop-off in passenger numbers, though it might be less this year, Judd speculated.

“We are heading for a good one,” Judd said. “Our weather is a lot better than some airports across the county, so I’m hopeful that will help out a bit.”

Seattle remains the top destination for departures; the city usurped Los Angeles a few years ago. But L.A. numbers are increasing, Judd said. Many passengers flying to the two airports are making connections to other destinations.

American Airlines added service to L.A. this month, and Alaska reinstated service there last year. The two airlines fly to L.A. most days except Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Daily arrival and departure numbers vary based on carrier schedules. Mondays and Fridays tend to be the busiest days with 19 departures usually, Judd said. Tuesdays and Saturdays are the slowest, but typically have 18 departures each. Service provided by either Allegiant Air and Avelo Airlines, currently offered only two days per week, affect the numbers.

Total air operations for carriers, either a takeoff or landing, were at 10,751 last year, down from 10,852 in 2022. Part of the decrease may be due to carriers flying more large jets, such as Boeing 737s, and fewer regional aircraft.

United Mainline, for example, showed a 165% passenger increase for November compared to 2022, and a 163% increase for December. At the same time, United Express, which uses the smaller CRJ planes, dropped 56% for November and 52% for December.

Total air operations numbers for the airport were down 5% for 2023 with 39,564 operations compared to 41,752 in 2022. In 2021, there were 45,102 operations.

The total figure includes air carriers, air taxi services, general aviation and military. Air taxi operations dropped from 6,575 in 2022 to 5,027 in 2023. General aviation declined from 16,406 to 14,144 for the same years.

Inflation and the state of the economy locally may lead to fewer people flying, Judd said. “It is expensive to fly. That does slow us down a bit.”

Expansion of the east side apron to accommodate DC-10s and other fire-fighting aircraft has been halted for the winter, but will resume in the spring. Drivers on the Rogue Valley Expressway can see the new surfacing put in place.

Work has finished on the first phase of a general aviation expansion project, on the west side, that could create more hanger space. Apron and taxiway work is complete. Hanger construction would be done by private investors.