OREANDA-NEWS. Denver International Airport (DIA) had its busiest year in Denver aviation history in 2014, with more than 53.4 million passengers.

A total of 4,397,292 passengers traveled though DIA in December 2014, bringing the year's total passenger traffic to 53,472,514 - an increase of 1.7 percent over the 52,556,359 passengers who used the airport in 2013. The previous record for the airport was set in 2012, with 53,156,278 passengers.

Additionally, DIA set six monthly records for passenger traffic in 2014: January, February, April, May, September and October.

DIA also set new records for international passenger traffic in 2014, with a total of 2,208,209 international passengers. The previous all-time high for international traffic in Denver was set in 2008 with 2,200,036 passengers. Overall international passenger traffic at DIA increased 12 percent over 2013, and December 2014 marked the 32nd consecutive month of international passenger growth at DIA.

DIA served an all-time high of 191 destinations around the world during 2014, surpassing the 187 destinations served during 2013. New air service in 2014 included nonstop service to Panama City, Panama, as well as Guadalajara and Chihuahua, Mexico.

"Ending the year with record-breaking passenger traffic demonstrates the continued strength of the Denver market for air travel," said Denver International Airport CEO Kim Day. "DIA has the third-largest domestic network for flights, and has seen sustained growth in international passenger traffic that has been bolstered by new service to destinations around the globe such as Tokyo and Panama City. We will continue to build on this momentum as we work to add new destinations, better customer amenities and services that ensures Denver International Airport's place on the world map."

Mail, freight and express cargo operations saw 51,112,206 pounds of cargo in December 2014, an 11.2-percent increase compared to the same month last year. In 2014, 519,434,240 pounds of cargo were handled at DIA, up 4.1 percent from 498,938,408 pounds of cargo handled during 2013.