Hilton Head Island Airport (HHH) Statistics

Published Sep 9, 2026

Published Sep 9, 2026

Hilton Head Island Airport (HHH) is a Beaufort County airport on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and recorded more than 120 thousand departing passengers in 2025. Its primary International Air Transport Association (IATA) booking code is HHH; however, travelers on domestic flight plans may also see HXD, the local Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identifier for Hilton Head Airport in South Carolina. The airport opened in 1967, serves scheduled commercial flights and general aviation, and sits near the northeastern shoreline of Hilton Head Island.

How many passengers use Hilton Head Island Airport annually?

HHH recorded 120,808 passenger enplanements in 2025, using the airport’s latest full-year departure count.

  • From 2014 through 2018, passenger boardings fell from 54,712 to 36,308, a 33.6% drop.
  • The low point in that early period came in 2017, when HHH recorded 26,220 enplanements.
  • Pre-pandemic traffic jumped in 2019, reaching 110,608 passenger boardings, up 204.6% from 2018.
  • Pandemic-year 2020 fell to 73,615, down 33.4% from 2019.
  • The rebound in 2021 lifted HHH to 176,371, up 139.6% from 2020.
  • Post-pandemic traffic settled at 114,475 in 2022, then 103,964 in 2023 and 108,775 in 2024.
  • The latest airport-reported count shows 120,808 departures in 2025.

Note: Enplanements are departing passengers only. Values from 2014 through 2024 use FAA passenger boarding records; 2025 uses the airport’s full-year passenger enplanement report because the final FAA calendar-year file was not yet published.

Vertical bar chart of annual departing passengers (enplanements) at Hilton Head Island Airport from 2014 to 2025, with low volumes through 2018, a sharp jump in 2019, a dip in 2020, a peak in 2021, and levels above 100,000 sustained through 2025.
Annual passenger enplanements at Hilton Head Island Airport, 2014–2025.

How many aircraft operations take place each year at Hilton Head Island Airport?

HHH logged 35,031 tower operations in 2025, down 3.5% from 2024.

  • The airport recorded 38,312 tower operations in 2023.
  • Operations eased to 36,300 in 2024 and 35,031 in 2025.
  • Combined commercial operations, including air carrier and air taxi movements, totaled 14,029 in 2025.
  • General aviation remained the largest activity group in 2025, with 18,730 general aviation operations plus 1,465 local general aviation operations.
  • Air carrier operations rose from 3,667 in 2024 to 4,323 in 2025, while air taxi operations slipped from 9,790 to 9,706.
Vertical bar chart of annual tower operations (total takeoffs and landings) at Hilton Head Island Airport for 2023, 2024, and 2025, showing a slight downward trend across the three years.
Annual tower operations at Hilton Head Island Airport, 2023–2025.
Aircraft Operations by Type at HHH
Operation type202320242025
Air carrier3,5703,6674,323
Air taxi5,9299,7909,706
General aviation25,29620,83618,730
Local general aviation2,5551,2721,465
Military350340385
Local military532386422
Reconciliation difference8090
Total tower operations38,31236,30035,031

Source · Note: One aircraft operation is one takeoff or one landing.

Which airlines carry the most passengers at Hilton Head Island Airport?

American Airlines carried 178,679 total passengers at HHH in 2025, equal to 72.9% of the airport’s airline passenger traffic.

  • American Airlines increased from 157,903 total passengers in 2024 to 178,679 in 2025.
  • Delta Air Lines carried 43,181 passengers in 2025, up from 39,636 in 2024.
  • United Airlines carried 23,125 passengers in 2025, down from 24,783 in 2024.
  • American’s share rose from 71% in 2024 to 72.9% in 2025.
  • Delta held 17.6% of 2025 traffic, while United held 9.4%.

Note: Airline totals use total passengers, meaning arrivals plus departures by carrier.

Grouped horizontal bar chart comparing 2024 and 2025 total passengers for American, Delta and United at Hilton Head Island Airport, with American Airlines far ahead of the other two carriers.
Total passengers carried by airline at Hilton Head Island Airport, 2024 vs 2025.

What are the most popular nonstop destinations from Hilton Head Island Airport?

Charlotte led HHH’s domestic market in the latest rolling period, with 67,040 passengers from March 2025 through February 2026.

Note: BTS reports these destination markets in thousands of passengers for United States domestic flights. The latest rolling period shown is March 2025 through February 2026.

Horizontal bar chart ranking top nonstop destination markets from Hilton Head Island Airport by passengers (March 2025 to February 2026), led by Charlotte (CLT) well ahead of Reagan National (DCA), Atlanta (ATL) and smaller markets.
Top nonstop destination markets from Hilton Head Island Airport, March 2025–February 2026.

Peak Travel Months at Hilton Head Island Airport

July 2025 was HHH’s busiest month, with 31,230 total passengers.

  • Summer remained the airport’s strongest travel season in 2025, with May through August each recording above 28,000 total passengers.
  • June and July were the only months above 30,000 passengers, at 30,741 and 31,230.
  • January and February were the lightest months, at 7,005 and 7,225 passengers.
  • October reached 23,063 passengers, showing steady shoulder-season volume after the summer peak.
  • Full-year traffic reached 244,985 in 2025, compared with 222,326 in 2024.

Note: Monthly totals count arrivals plus departures.

Vertical bar chart of monthly total passengers at Hilton Head Island Airport across 2025, rising from low winter months to a summer peak in July before tapering into the fall.
Monthly total passengers at Hilton Head Island Airport, 2025.

How much revenue does the Hilton Head Island airport generate?

HHH generated $4.95 million in total operating revenue in fiscal year 2025, the highest figure in the verified FAA CATS series.

  • From 2014 through 2018, total operating revenue declined from $1.71 million to $1.53 million, a 10.9% drop.
  • Pre-pandemic revenue rose sharply in 2019, reaching $2.03 million, up 32.8% from 2018.
  • During the pandemic period, revenue continued rising to $2.28 million in 2020 and $2.74 million in 2021.
  • Post-pandemic revenue jumped to $4.74 million in 2022, then eased to $3.85 million in 2023.
  • HHH recovered to $4.39 million in 2024 and $4.95 million in 2025, up 12.8% year over year.
  • Compared with 2014, total operating revenue was 188.4% higher in 2025.

Note: The fiscal years shown for HHH end on June 30.

Vertical bar chart of annual total operating revenue at Hilton Head Island Airport for fiscal years 2014 through 2025, roughly flat near the low-million range through 2018 then climbing steadily toward about $5 million by 2025.
Total operating revenue at Hilton Head Island Airport, FY2014–FY2025.

Hilton Head Island Airport's On-Time Performance

Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) data shows 78% on-time departures and 83% on-time arrivals for HHH in the latest rolling 2026 period.

  • BTS began the airport-level on-time summary for HHH in 2021, when departures were 80% on time and arrivals were 82% on time.
  • Departure punctuality fell to 76% in 2024, then improved to 78% in 2025.
  • Arrival punctuality rose from 79% in 2024 to 82% in 2025.
  • The latest rolling 2026 period shows 78% on-time departures and 83% on-time arrivals.
  • Average delay for delayed departures was 87.26 minutes in 2025 and 89.05 minutes in the latest rolling 2026 period.
  • The cancellation rate improved from 2.15% in 2025 to 1.8% in the latest rolling 2026 period.
Hilton Head Island Airport on-time performance by year, 2021–2026*.
Metric202120222023202420252026*
On-time departures80%77%77%76%78%78%
On-time arrivals82%80%83%79%82%83%
Average departure delay (min.)79.2587.8280.2577.5387.2689.05
Average arrival delay (min.)62.6077.4452.9361.1051.2251.44
Cancellation rate2.33%2.25%2.00%2.24%2.15%1.80%
Number of flights3,6931,9991,8021,8742,1852,061
Number of reporting carriers332222

Source · Note: A BTS delay is an arrival or departure 15 minutes or more later than scheduled, and average delay minutes are calculated from delayed flights only. *2026 covers March 2025 through February 2026. BTS publishes average delays in decimal-minute format. As such, the values have been kept exactly as reported to avoid altering the underlying data.

Related Travel Statistics

Hilton Head Island Airport Nationwide Ranking

HHH ranked 224th among United States commercial service airports in calendar year 2024.

  • HHH recorded 108,775 passenger boardings in 2024, up 4.6% from 103,964 in 2023.
  • The FAA classified HHH as a primary commercial service airport and a non-hub primary airport.
  • This ranking should not be compared directly with total passenger traffic, because FAA passenger boardings count departing passengers only.

References

  1. Hilton Head Island Airport — Airport Statistics (2023–2025) · Hilton Head Island Airport (HHH)
  2. FAA — Passenger Boardings and Airport Classification (2014–2024) · Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
  3. FAA CATS — Total Operating Revenue (FY2014–FY2025) · FAA Cost and Trend Statistics (CATS)
  4. BTS — Destination Markets and On-Time Performance (2021–2026) · Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
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