After a record-breaking 2023 and 2024, fewer people are traveling from the San Antonio International Airport (SAT) in 2025. According to the airport's monthly report, passenger numbers dipped 2.4 percent in January through May.

"Several factors resulted in passenger numbers being below 2024 levels," wrote report author and Air Service Administrator Jacob Tyler. "This includes some reduction in demand because of economic uncertainty."

U.S. consumer confidence has taken a hit in 2025. A late-June survey by global think tank The Conference Board reported a 5.4-point drop in its Consumer Confidence Index in June and a 4.6-point fall in its Expectations Index, a bellwether of customer projections for the overall economy.

Earlier in the year, the San Antonio city budget noted a decrease in hotel occupancy tax revenue due to fewer bookings and a lower average room rate.

There were some bright spots in the SAT findings. Travel to Mexico was up six percent during the report's timeframe despite a slate of well-publicized incidents involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And holidays continue to draw large numbers of travelers.

"SAT did, however, experience its busiest Memorial Day Weekend travel period in the airport's history this year, up one percent year-over-year," noted Tyler.

Tyler also detailed a few new flights that will make SAT more attractive, including new nonstop flights to Atlanta from Frontier Airlines, nonstop routes to Detroit and Nashville from Spirit, and a seasonal increase in departures to Cancun, Mexico, and Minneapolis-St. Paul from Sun Country.

The multi-year closure of the Austin Convention Center is also expected to be beneficial to San Antonio's tourism sector, at least in the short term. The complete renovation of the Capital City's marquee event space is expected to wrap up in 2029.