January 28, 2026

Gulf Shores Airport Reports Over 80,000 Passengers in 2025

By Isabella Gomez
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News

January 28, 2026

GULF SHORES, Ala. Representatives of the news Gulf Shores International Airport (GUF), have announced what the airport’s passenger numbers looked like for 2025, their first year of operations.

Jesse Fosnaugh, the airport’s director, said that he was a bit surprised and elated, all at the same time.

80,000 passengers flew into the airport, almost double the estimates that they had hoped for.
Almost half of those were first time visitors to Gulf Shores.

With a spring 2025 launch that led to an expansion of routes, the airport saw a “stellar first season by all measures,” said Fosnaugh.
“When Allegiant first announced air service in November of 2024, we had estimated around 45,000 passengers would travel through the airport in 2025.”

Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism’s vice president of marketing, Crystal Hinds, said airport traffic numbers indicate new visitors have been attracted to the area and are “generating a meaningful economic impact.”

“Tourism is a cornerstone of community well-being on Alabama’s beaches, generating local jobs, funding infrastructure and supporting public services that residents rely on year-round,” Hinds said. “The visitor dollar reinvests back into Baldwin County, strengthening the quality of life while preserving the coastal resources that make this place special.”

In 2024, the Alabama Gulf Coast saw more than 6.5 million visitors and the numbers for 2025 will soon be announced and it’s expected to show an increase.

Fosnaugh said that the average flights had about 120 passengers, filling the planes to about 70%. The best performing routes last year were Kansas City, Missouri (MCI), and St. Louis/Belleville, Illinois (BLV).

The busiest travel month at the airport was July, and the slowest was December, though Fosnaugh said shoulder seasonal traffic is expected to pick up.

Allegiant Airlines is selling tickets to the 13 nonstop destinations to be offered to and from GUF this year, including the currently running Appleton/Green Bay, Wisconsin (ATW); Belleville, Illinois/St. Louis, Missouri (BLV); Cincinnati, Ohio (CVG); Des Moines, Iowa (DSM); and Nashville, Tennessee (BNA).

These locations are set to continue into the next season, which begins in May, and will join Fayetville, Arkansas (XNA); Knoxville, Tennessee (TYS); Kansas City, Missouri (MCI); Springfield, Missouri (SGF); Louisville, Kentucky (SDF); Huntsville, Alabama (HSV); Omaha, Nebraska (OMA); and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (OKC).

A representative said more flights and destinations could be announced in the near future.