This Is Breeze Airways' New #1 Airport: Is It Where You Think?

A graduate in German, Jake has a passion for history and regional aviation, and enjoys sampling new carriers and aircraft. He has visited OEM facilities as far and wide as Bristol, Toulouse, and Seattle, and recently enjoyed the milestone of flying his 150th sector as a passenger. Based in Norfolk, UK.

As 2026 comes to an end, airlines are already keeping one eye on their plans for 2027. At Breeze Airways, a notable quirk of the first quarter of next year is that it will have a new busiest airport in terms of scheduled departures, namely Tampa International Airport (TPA) in Florida. This facility ranked third in Q1 2026, but an 82% increase in flights has pushed it to the top spot in Q1 2026.

This considerable uptick reflects Breeze's strong, continued growth in 2026. It has also worked hard to modernize its fleet this year, finally retiring the last of its smaller, older Embraer E-Jets and leaving it with a young fleet of larger Airbus A220-300s. Elsewhere, its top 10 list of busiest Q1 2027 airports includes a new arrival and a returning facility.

Tampa Reigns Supreme

According to schedule data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Breeze is set to operate 2,108 departures out of Tampa in the first quarter of next year. Compared with 1,161 in Q1 2026, this is an 81% annual increase. Of these flights, just 180 will be domestic, serving Cancun, Montego Bay, Nassau, Punta Cana, and San Jose.

Meanwhile, its top domestic destination will be Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina, with 192 Q1 departures. Other big hitters include Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Charleston International Airport (CHS), with 167 and 138 flights, respectively.

Last week, Breeze announced nonstop flights from TPA to Santo Domingo. TPA officials praised the news.

"By adding another international nonstop flight, the airline continues to increase its commitment to TPA and will soon offer Tampa Bay travelers another easy way to reach the Dominican Republic."

The Best Of The Rest

Given its popularity as a destination from Tampa, it's unsurprising that RDU ranked second in Breeze departures in Q1 of 2027, with 1,920 penciled in. This marks a 48% year-on-year increase, and puts it just ahead of third-placed Orlando International Airport (MCO). Here, Breeze expects to operate 33% more Q1 flights in 2027 than in 2026, with a total of 1,898 scheduled.

Two more airports are set to see more than 1,000 Breeze departures in the first quarter of next year, rounding out the top five. Another Florida facility ranks fourth, with the carrier penciling in 1,417 flights from Fort Myers in Q1 of 2027. This marks a 49% uptick, while fifth-placed Charleston has 29% more flights, with 1,196 Breeze Airways departures set to operate next Q1.

The rest of the top 10 is generally occupied by airports with smaller annual increases: Windsor Locks (959) is up 11%, Providence (842) is up 9%, and New Orleans (766 is up 35%). However, notable exceptions can be found in eighth and tenth place: FLL is a new entry to the top 10 with 821 flights (up 1,040%), while Las Vegas returns to the top 10 with an 83% increase (751 flights).

How Did Things Look In Q1 Of This Year?

To understand where the airline is going, we also look at Breeze's operations in the first quarter of 2026 to see where it came from. MCO was its top airport in Q1 of this year, with 1,425 departures, followed by Raleigh-Durham (1,298), Tampa (1,161), Fort Myers (952), Charleston (928), Windsor Locks (866), Providence (771), and New Orleans (566).

However, the remaining top 10 airports have since lost their places in the rankings. Akron Canton Airport (CAK), Provo Municipal Airport (PVU), and Norfolk International Airport (ORF) occupied these spots, with totals of 563, 496, and 493 flights, respectively. All of these airports also had more flights in Q1 of 2027 than this year, but not enough to crack the top 10 rankings.