23rd consecutive month of Passenger Records
For Immediate Release
Feb. 23, 2026
CEDAR RAPIDS/IOWA CITY – The Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) set another passenger record for January, starting 2026 with a 5% increase in total passengers compared to January 2025.
This is the 23rd consecutive month for passenger records. Total passengers in January were 128,641, compared to January 2025 when 122,267 passengers chose to fly CID.
CID ended 2025 with 1.6 million total passengers, marking the third consecutive record-breaking passenger totals.
Airport Director Marty Lenss said airlines continue to invest in the CID market, which includes all of Eastern Iowa and the border regions of Illinois and Wisconsin. Monthly capacity (number of seats in the market) continues to increase year-over year. February capacity is up 13 percent, March capacity up 14 percent, and April capacity is up 12 percent.
“Nationally, the industry average for capacity increases is 2 to 3 percent -we are very appreciative of the airlines’ investment in our region,” Lenss said.
Part of those capacity increases are due to additional flight frequencies by American Airlines and United Airlines to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).
American will increase its daily flights to ORD from three or four per day to six. United will increase its daily service to ORD from five flights to seven or eight flights per day.
“The airlines are providing passengers additional opportunities to connect through one of the world’s busiest airports,” Lenss said. “These frequency increases open up even more easy, one-stop connections for business and leisure travelers.”