These Are the 20 Busiest Airports in the United States

28.08.2023 - 22:49 / afar.com / Art

Head to any of the biggest and busiest airports throughout the United States these days and it will seem like a distant memory (or perhaps a bad dream) that not more than a few years ago, the pandemic had turned many of these bustling hubs into ghost towns. As travel returns with a vengeance, U.S. airports are once again buzzing with passengers. Consequently, airports are racing to keep up with ambitious renovation and expansion projects, a parade of new clubs and lounges for premium travelers looking to escape the masses, and a whole slew of new restaurants and services to better accommodate the flying public.

In fact, the entire U.S. air transport infrastructure system is in the midst of a long overdue renaissance as part of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was passed in 2021 and set aside a whopping $25 billion to modernize the country’s airports—and better prepare them for a future that is likely to see millions of additional travelers heading into the skies in the coming years. Investments have been set aside to replace aging terminals, to reduce the risk of close calls and collisions on runways, to make airports cleaner and greener, and to fund major capacity expansion projects.

All of which comes at a time when passenger numbers are back on the rise. Earlier this summer, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released data on the number of air travelers who boarded planes at U.S. airports in 2022, making the scale of the postpandemic recovery apparent: A total of 853 million passengers boarded flights throughout the USA in 2023, 50 percent more than in 2021, and just 8 percent below the all-time annual high of 928 million passengers who boarded flights in the U.S. in 2019. Here’s which airports saw the highest number of passengers taking off—as well as what to do if you find yourself among the millions of travelers who spend time in these busy hubs.

The busiest airport in the United States is Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL). The Atlanta airport is also the No. 1 busiest airport in the world. In 2022, 45.4 million passengers boarded commercial aircraft in Atlanta, according to the FAA. That was a nearly 24 percent increase over the 36.7 million enplanements in Atlanta in 2021.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International is not just the busiest U.S. airport; it’s the busiest global airport.

Photo by Shutterstock

Located 10 miles from downtown Atlanta, Georgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is a massive domestic and international hub for air travel—especially for those traveling with Delta Air Lines and its partners. The 6.8 million-square-foot terminal complex consists of 152 domestic gates and 40 international gates.

This