US: In an upside-down world, Alaska briefly had busiest airport

As runways around the world fell nearly silent in recent months due to the pandemic, one US airport stood out: Anchorage, Alaska. Sitting about halfway between Asia’s industrial centers and North America, Ted Stevens Anchorage International has been booming with cargo shipments, including loads of masks and other medical equipment, aboard planes stopping to refuel. At least several times in recent weeks -- such as April 25 and May 2 -- it topped all other US commercial airports, including traditional powerhouses such as Atlanta and Chicago, with the most flights, according to the airport and newly released federal data. For April, it was ranked 10th and flights exceeded those at New York City’s three commercial airports and the corporate jet hub in Teterboro, New Jersey, combined. By some counts, it has been the world’s busiest. It’s an upside-down honor that makes airport manager Jim Szczesniak uncomfortable. “Being the world’s busiest is not a title that we want,” Szczesniak said of the facility, where the terminals feature life-sized stuffed animals such as a moose and grizzly bear. “The world’s busiest airport is a bad situation for us to be in. It just shows you how bad the passenger side of the house is doing right now.” Flights into and out of the 520 US airports with air-traffic towers fell 54.5% in April, compared with the same month last year, according to FAA data. That’s 2.5m fewer operations.<br/>