Carlsbad Cavern City Air Terminal, New Mexico (CNM)
Cavern City Air Terminal handled 1,232 passengers in July 2026, up 86.1% on a year earlier, according to the US BTS.
Flights (arrivals + departures) over time
The most recent periods19 periods
| Period | Flights (arrivals + departures) 2025 | Flights (arrivals + departures) 2026 | Change vs last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 165 | 135 | ▼ 18.2% |
| February | 152 | 147 | ▼ 3.3% |
| March | 154 | 109 | ▼ 29.2% |
| April | 161 | 104 | ▼ 35.4% |
| May | 168 | 114 | ▼ 32.1% |
| June | 158 | 102 | ▼ 35.4% |
| July | 164 | 112 | ▼ 31.7% |
| August | 161 | – | – |
| September | 158 | – | – |
| October | 164 | – | in progress |
| November | 164 | – | – |
| December | 168 | – | – |
| Year to date (Jan–Jul) | 1,122 | 823 | ▼ 26.6% |
Passengers over time
The most recent periods19 periods
| Period | Passengers 2025 | Passengers 2026 | Change vs last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 671 | 521 | ▼ 22.4% |
| February | 666 | 624 | ▼ 6.3% |
| March | 719 | 1,018 | ▲ 41.6% |
| April | 745 | 1,142 | ▲ 53.3% |
| May | 762 | 1,402 | ▲ 84.0% |
| June | 643 | 1,221 | ▲ 89.9% |
| July | 662 | 1,232 | ▲ 86.1% |
| August | 688 | – | – |
| September | 678 | – | – |
| October | 738 | – | in progress |
| November | 688 | – | – |
| December | 799 | – | – |
| Year to date (Jan–Jul) | 4,868 | 7,160 | ▲ 47.1% |
Seats offered over time
The most recent periods19 periods
| Period | Seats offered 2025 | Seats offered 2026 | Change vs last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1,485 | 1,215 | ▼ 18.2% |
| February | 1,368 | 1,344 | ▼ 1.8% |
| March | 1,386 | 3,249 | ▲ 134.4% |
| April | 1,449 | 3,120 | ▲ 115.3% |
| May | 1,596 | 3,420 | ▲ 114.3% |
| June | 1,422 | 3,060 | ▲ 115.2% |
| July | 1,476 | 3,292 | ▲ 123.0% |
| August | 1,449 | – | – |
| September | 1,422 | – | – |
| October | 1,476 | – | in progress |
| November | 1,476 | – | – |
| December | 1,554 | – | – |
| Year to date (Jan–Jul) | 10,182 | 18,700 | ▲ 83.7% |
Load factor (computed)
Passengers ÷ seats offered, both as reported by the US BTS for the same months. Computed by us; the two source series are shown on this page.
The most recent periods19 periods
| Period | Load factor 2025 | Load factor 2026 | Change vs last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45.2% | 42.9% | ▼ 5.1% |
| February | 48.7% | 46.4% | ▼ 4.6% |
| March | 51.9% | 31.3% | ▼ 39.6% |
| April | 51.4% | 36.6% | ▼ 28.8% |
| May | 47.7% | 41.0% | ▼ 14.1% |
| June | 45.2% | 39.9% | ▼ 11.8% |
| July | 44.9% | 37.4% | ▼ 16.6% |
| August | 47.5% | – | – |
| September | 47.7% | – | – |
| October | 50.0% | – | in progress |
| November | 46.6% | – | – |
| December | 51.4% | – | – |
| Year-to-date average (Jan–Jul) | 47.9% | 39.4% | ▼ 17.7% |
Seasonality · flights (arrivals + departures) by month
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 167 | 150 | 166 | 161 | 171 | 159 | 165 | 168 | 164 | 169 | 160 | 166 |
| 2025 | 165 | 152 | 154 | 161 | 168 | 158 | 164 | 161 | 158 | 164 | 164 | 168 |
| 2026 | 135 | 147 | 109 | 104 | 114 | 102 | 112 |
Our own count, day by day
We counted 238 departures and arrivals at Cavern City Air Terminal over the last 31 complete days, from the airport's own public flight board.
Our own count · not official · not comparable with the figure aboveShort series — months has only 1 months so far. Enough to show the level now, not enough to read a trend.
Sum of our daily count. “n/N days” = incomplete period.
Short series — quarters has only 1 quarters so far. Enough to show the level now, not enough to read a trend.
Sum of our daily count. “n/N days” = incomplete period.
Short series — years has only 1 years so far. Enough to show the level now, not enough to read a trend.
Sum of our daily count. “n/N days” = incomplete period.
The most recent periods30 periods
| Period | Flights counted | 7-day total |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 2026 | 8 | 49 |
| Aug 30, 2026 | 9 | 48 |
| Aug 29, 2026 | 4 | 48 |
| Aug 28, 2026 | 4 | 47 |
| Aug 27, 2026 | 9 | 49 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | 9 | 49 |
| Aug 25, 2026 | 6 | 52 |
| Aug 24, 2026 | 7 | 49 |
| Aug 23, 2026 | 9 | 53 |
| Aug 22, 2026 | 3 | 50 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | 6 | 53 |
| Aug 20, 2026 | 9 | 53 |
| Aug 19, 2026 | 12 | 50 |
| Aug 18, 2026 | 3 | 48 |
| Aug 17, 2026 | 11 | 55 |
| Aug 16, 2026 | 6 | 57 |
| Aug 15, 2026 | 6 | 59 |
| Aug 14, 2026 | 6 | 61 |
| Aug 13, 2026 | 6 | 63 |
| Aug 12, 2026 | 10 | 67 |
| Aug 11, 2026 | 10 | 65 |
| Aug 10, 2026 | 13 | 58 |
| Aug 9, 2026 | 8 | 49 |
| Aug 8, 2026 | 8 | 61 |
| Aug 7, 2026 | 8 | 56 |
| Aug 6, 2026 | 10 | |
| Aug 5, 2026 | 8 | |
| Aug 4, 2026 | 3 | |
| Aug 3, 2026 | 4 | |
| Aug 2, 2026 | 20 |
Environment
Air pollutants at the airport (EPA estimate)
Modelled estimate, not a measurement: aircraft below 3,000 ft (landing and take-off), ground support equipment and auxiliary power units, plus any stationary sources the state reported at the airport site. Cruise emissions are not included.In 2023, the US EPA estimated 23.7 tonnes of nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) and 1.4 tonnes of fine particles (PM2.5) from activity at Cavern City Air Terminal, according to the EPA National Emissions Inventory.
| Pollutant | Unit | 2017 | 2020 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOₓ (Nitrogen oxides) | tonnes | 12.9 | 12.8 | 23.7 |
| CO (Carbon monoxide) | tonnes | 31.4 | 27.1 | 40.9 |
| SO₂ (Sulphur dioxide) | tonnes | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.3 |
| VOC (Volatile organic compounds) | tonnes | 5.2 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| PM2.5 (Fine particles) | tonnes | 0.90 | 0.86 | 1.4 |
| PM10 (Particulate matter) | tonnes | 0.97 | 0.91 | 1.5 |
| Lead | kg | 9.4 | 7.6 | 5.4 |
| CO₂ (Carbon dioxide) | tonnes | 152 | 3,369 | — |
The inventory is published every three years. Coverage changes between editions (about 19,300 airport sites in 2017, 6,000 in 2020, 12,700 in 2023), 2020 reflects the pandemic drop in traffic, and EPA updates its aircraft model between editions — so the columns are not a trend (Los Angeles: 3,562 tonnes of NOₓ in 2017, 8,810 in 2023). CO₂ is only reported for some sites in 2017, for all sites in 2020, and not at all in 2023. EPA publishes US customary units; converted here to metric tonnes (× 0.907) and, for lead, kilograms.
US EPA — National Emissions Inventory