Denver over Dubai: US airports dominate rankings of world’s busiest last year
US airports made up eight of the 10 busiest hubs around the world last year, according to new rankings released Monday, as a jump in domestic leisure travel displaced some of the world’s bustling international hubs during the Covid pandemic. Delta hub Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest before the pandemic, maintained its top spot on the Airport Council International’s 2021 preliminary ranking, with 75.7m passengers last year. American Airlines-dominated Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport ranked second with 62.6m passengers. Denver International Airport vaulted to third place last year with 58.8m people, up from eighth place in 2020 and 16th in 2019. Orlando International Airport in Florida jumped to seventh place with 40.3m people —a big improvement after ranking 27th in 2020 and 31st in 2019. The rankings show how international travel remained subdued last year even though some countries, including the US, loosened pandemic travel restrictions. While US airports topped the ranking, passenger traffic was down across the board. ACI estimates airlines carried 4.5b people last year, down 50% from 2019 but up 25% from 2020. Domestic US leisure travel has been a bright spot in the pandemic for the country’s airlines, though executives have said they expect at least trans-Atlantic travel demand to be strong this spring and summer. Renewed lockdowns in China have cast doubt on a resurgence in demand there, however. In 2019, airports in Beijing, Dubai and Tokyo ranked second, third and fifth on the list, respectively. Dubai continued to top international passenger traffic rankings last year. The other two hubs didn’t make the cut. Story has rankings.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-04-12/general/denver-over-dubai-us-airports-dominate-rankings-of-world2019s-busiest-last-year
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/logo.png
Denver over Dubai: US airports dominate rankings of world’s busiest last year
US airports made up eight of the 10 busiest hubs around the world last year, according to new rankings released Monday, as a jump in domestic leisure travel displaced some of the world’s bustling international hubs during the Covid pandemic. Delta hub Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest before the pandemic, maintained its top spot on the Airport Council International’s 2021 preliminary ranking, with 75.7m passengers last year. American Airlines-dominated Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport ranked second with 62.6m passengers. Denver International Airport vaulted to third place last year with 58.8m people, up from eighth place in 2020 and 16th in 2019. Orlando International Airport in Florida jumped to seventh place with 40.3m people —a big improvement after ranking 27th in 2020 and 31st in 2019. The rankings show how international travel remained subdued last year even though some countries, including the US, loosened pandemic travel restrictions. While US airports topped the ranking, passenger traffic was down across the board. ACI estimates airlines carried 4.5b people last year, down 50% from 2019 but up 25% from 2020. Domestic US leisure travel has been a bright spot in the pandemic for the country’s airlines, though executives have said they expect at least trans-Atlantic travel demand to be strong this spring and summer. Renewed lockdowns in China have cast doubt on a resurgence in demand there, however. In 2019, airports in Beijing, Dubai and Tokyo ranked second, third and fifth on the list, respectively. Dubai continued to top international passenger traffic rankings last year. The other two hubs didn’t make the cut. Story has rankings.<br/>
