Deputy Editor- Tampa Bay Business Journal

Tampa International Airport hit a seven-year high in fiscal 2015 with almost 18.5 million passengers — a 6.7 percent increase over 2014.

The growth in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 also makes five consecutive annual reports showing year-over-year passenger growth.

A big part of the success was a dramatic increase in international traffic with a one-year 14.9 percent jump to 684,799. Since 2010, TIA has seen 73 percent growth in international traffic, according to a release from the airport.

Domestically, Alaska Airlines finished its first full year of service to Seattle and carried more than 113,000 passengers. Likewise, Frontier Airlines added 220,000 more passengers than last year with new flights to Cleveland, Chicago and Philadelphia and more flights to Denver.

The annual numbers from TIA track similarly with the record-breaking numbers out of the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, which is riding a growth wave from Allegiant Airlines to passenger records.

Tampa International also recently added daily Lufthansa flights to Frankfurt that should continue to boost TIA’s numbers.