The number of air travelers who “Fly Meridian” increased about 20 percent in 2017.

Tom Williams, president of the Meridian Regional Airport Authority, said the number of boardings increased from 16,583 in 2016 to 19,520 in 2017.

In 2015, 16,296 passengers departed the airport, which is located at Key Field.

Since June of last year, the airport has offered flights through American Airlines to and from Chicago O’Hare Airport, which were added to existing flights to and from Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport.

In December 2017, flights to both destinations, which are shared with the Hattiesburg airport, were at 81 percent capacity, with two-thirds of those travelers boarding in Meridian, Williams said.

“The Chicago service didn’t hurt, but I don’t think [the growth] was purely due to Chicago, — from what the airline tells me,” Williams said. “I think it’s really just the natural growth of the support from the region.”

In a March 2017 report from The Meridian Star, Williams said the Chicago flights would “offer the passengers in our region many more options when making their travel reservations,” along with making “our airport only the second small airport in the country to offer the advantages of two hubs to the traveling public.”

The service is offered through Sky West, an American-affiliated carrier that uses CRJ 200 jets that seat 50 people.

— Whitney Downard contributed to this report.