List of the busiest airports in the United States

These are lists of the busiest airports in the United States, based on various ranking criteria.

Busiest US airports by total passenger boardings

The FAA uses passenger boarding for a full calendar year to determine Airport Improvement Program (AIP) entitlements.[1] The term hub is used by the FAA to identify very busy commercial service airports. For instance, large hubs are those airports that each account for at least one percent of total U.S. passenger enplanements. Medium hubs are defined as airports that each account for between 0.25 percent and one percent of the total passenger enplanements.

The 30 large hubs move 70% of the passengers with a traffic increasing by 2.5% from 2016 to 2017, while the 31 medium hubs grew by 5.2% and sixteen airports lost airline services between 2014 and 2018, from 445 to 429. Mainline carriers are up-gauging their fleet while scope clauses regional aircraft operations and turboprops and 50-seat regional jets are abandoned: aircraft with 50 seats or fewer represented 30% of domestic departures and 12% of seats offered in 2014, falling to 19% in 2018 and 7% of seats. Accounting for 18% of passenger traffic, medium hubs stimulate point-to-point services like for Southwest Airlines, operating at 29, carrying most mainline passengers at 24 and more than half at 10. Southwest’s first-quarter of 2018 CASM excluding fuel and special charges was 8.65 cents, roughly equivalent to JetBlue Airways and more than 20% lower than American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, while ULCCs are lower like Spirit Airlines at 5.83 cents while Frontier Airlines' is undisclosed.[2]

Rank
(2017)		Airports (large hubs)IATA
Code		Major city servedState 2017[3]2016[4]2015[5]2014[6]2013[7]2012[8]2011[9]2010[10]2009[11]2008[11]2007[12]2006[13]2005[14]
1 Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport ATL Atlanta GA 50,251,962 50,501,858 49,340,732 46,604,273 45,308,407 45,798,809 44,414,121 43,130,585 42,280,868 43,236,665 43,236,665 41,352,038 42,402,653
2 Los Angeles International Airport LAX Los Angeles CA 41,232,416 39,636,042 36,351,226 34,314,197 32,425,892 31,326,268 30,528,737 28,857,755 27,439,897 28,861,477 30,113,985 29,357,327 29,372,272
3 O'Hare International Airport ORD Chicago IL 38,593,028 37,589,899 36,305,668 33,686,811 32,317,835 32,171,743 31,892,301 32,171,831 31,135,732 33,683,991 36,521,585 36,825,097 36,720,005
4 Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport DFW Dallas/Fort Worth TX 31,861,933 31,283,579 31,589,832 30,766,940 29,038,128 28,022,877 27,518,358 27,100,656 26,663,984 27,219,985 28,482,417 28,627,749 28,079,147
5 Denver International Airport DEN Denver CO 29,809,091 28,267,394 26,280,043 26,000,591 25,496,885 25,799,832 25,667,499 25,241,962 24,013,669 24,287,939 20,796,173 20,591,909 20,315,544
6 John F. Kennedy International Airport JFK New York NY 29,533,154 29,239,151 27,782,369 26,244,928 25,036,358 24,520,943 23,664,830 22,934,047 22,710,272 23,620,948 23,401,351 21,071,501 20,260,359
7 San Francisco International Airport SFO San Francisco CA 26,900,016 25,707,101 24,190,549 22,756,008 21,704,626 21,284,224 20,038,679 19,359,003 18,467,908 18,135,827 17,280,328 16,236,592 16,070,133
8 McCarran International Airport LAS Las Vegas NV 23,364,185 22,833,267 21,824,231 20,551,016 19,946,179 19,941,173 19,854,759 18,996,738 19,445,952 21,024,443 22,537,950 22,028,521 21,402,676
9 Seattle–Tacoma International Airport SEA Seattle/Tacoma WA 22,639,120 21,887,110 21,231,781 18,781,489 17,450,425 16,625,787 16,425,732 15,406,243 15,273,092 15,839,504 15,419,116 14,703,928 14,359,530
10 Charlotte Douglas International Airport CLT Charlotte NC 22,011,225 21,511,880 21,913,166 21,542,277 21,346,601 20,032,426 19,022,535 18,629,181 18,165,476 19,291,428 16,884,780 14,949,568 14,109,608
11 Newark Liberty International Airport EWR Newark/New Jersey NJ 21,571,194 19,923,009 18,684,818 17,680,826 17,546,506 17,035,098 16,814,092 16,571,754 16,659,441 17,599,578 18,163,652 17,804,107 16,444,959
12 Orlando International Airport MCO Orlando FL 21,565,444 20,283,541 18,759,938 17,278,608 16,884,524 17,159,425 17,250,415 17,017,491 16,371,016 17,288,480 17,614,679 16,807,856 16,592,133
13 Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport PHX Phoenix AZ 21,185,440 20,896,265 21,351,445 20,344,867 19,525,109 19,556,189 19,750,306 18,907,171 18,559,647 19,450,576 20,767,144 20,479,291 19,032,196
14 Miami International Airport MIA Miami FL 20,709,205 20,875,813 20,986,341 19,468,523 19,420,089 18,987,488 18,342,158 17,017,654 16,187,768 16,377,488 16,194,162 15,664,791 15,092,763
15 George Bush Intercontinental Airport IAH Houston TX 19,603,729 20,062,072 20,595,874 19,772,054 18,952,840 19,038,958 19,306,660 19,528,631 19,290,239 20,030,898 24,117,623 22,822,111 20,799,886
16 Logan International Airport BOS Boston MA 19,145,096 17,749,202 16,290,362 15,425,869 14,810,153 14,293,675 14,171,476 13,561,814 12,566,797 12,820,489 13,783,297 13,544,552 13,214,923
17 Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport MSP Minneapolis/St. Paul MN 19,002,544 18,123,844 17,634,252 16,972,678 16,280,835 15,943,751 15,895,653 15,512,487 15,551,206 16,369,324 16,962,563 17,192,410 17,971,771
18 Detroit Metropolitan Airport DTW Detroit MI 17,325,600 16,826,287 16,255,520 15,775,941 15,683,523 15,599,877 15,716,865 15,643,890 15,211,402 16,998,174 17,495,135 17,483,468 17,580,363
19 Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport FLL Fort Lauderdale FL 16,216,686 14,263,270 13,061,607 11,987,607 11,538,140 11,445,101 11,332,466 10,829,810 10,258,118 11,020,091 11,079,250 10,204,579 10,729,468
20 Philadelphia International Airport PHL Philadelphia PA 14,760,585 14,564,419 15,101,318 14,747,112 14,727,945 14,587,631 14,883,180 14,951,254 15,002,961 15,586,852 15,656,653 15,390,848 15,376,569
21 LaGuardia Airport LGA New York NY 14,737,834 14,706,123 14,762,593 13,415,797 13,372,269 12,818,717 11,989,227 12,001,501 11,084,300 11,567,586 12,529,890 12,925,697 13,014,314
22 Baltimore–Washington International Airport BWI Baltimore/Washington, D.C. MD 13,214,185 12,340,972 11,738,828 11,022,200 11,132,731 11,183,965 11,067,317 10,848,633 10,338,950 10,215,225 10,487,789 10,297,607 9,829,432
23 Salt Lake City International Airport SLC Salt Lake City UT 12,098,835 11,143,738 10,634,519 10,139,065 9,668,048 9,579,836 9,701,756 9,910,493 9,903,821 9,993,198 10,560,906 10,289,129 10,601,918
24 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport DCA Washington, D.C. VA 11,966,354 11,470,854 11,242,375 10,057,794 9,838,034 9,462,206 9,053,004 8,736,804 8,490,288 8,704,466 9,038,174 8,973,410 8,623,907
25 Washington Dulles International Airport IAD Washington, D.C. VA 11,407,107 10,596,942 10,363,918 10,415,948 10,570,993 10,785,683 11,043,829 11,276,481 11,132,098 11,348,775 11,789,441 11,045,217 13,032,502
26 San Diego International Airport SAN San Diego CA 11,107,078 10,340,164 9,985,739 9,333,152 8,878,772 8,686,592 8,465,683 8,430,509 8,453,854 9,007,617 9,138,116 8,724,442 8,628,648
27 Midway International Airport MDW Chicago IL 10,911,970 11,044,353 11,044,387 10,318,311 9,915,646 9,431,796 9,134,576 8,518,957 8,253,620 8,021,383 9,132,836 8,915,292 8,383,698
28 Tampa International Airport TPA Tampa FL 9,830,583 9,194,994 9,150,414 8,531,561 8,267,752 8,216,153 8,174,194 8,137,222 8,263,294 8,871,917 9,306,036 9,187,865 9,297,643
29 Daniel K. Inouye International Airport HNL Honolulu HI 9,743,989 9,656,340 9,656,340 9,463,000 9,466,995 9,210,270 8,643,494 8,740,077 8,739,389 9,013,440 10,393,929 9,855,838 9,784,404
30 Portland International Airport PDX Portland OR 9,538,472 9,071,154 8,340,234 7,878,760 7,452,603 7,142,620 6,808,486 6,582,227 6,430,119 7,090,526 7,281,057 6,956,712 6,798,976
Rank
(2017)		Airports (Medium Hubs)IATA
Code		City ServedState20172016 2015[4]2014[1]
31 Dallas Love Field DAL Dallas TX 7,876,769 7,554,596 7,040,921 4,522,341
32 St. Louis Lambert International Airport STL St. Louis MO 7,372,805 6,793,076 6,239,231 6,108,758
33 Nashville International Airport BNA Nashville TN 7,015,119 6,338,517 5,708,852 5,396,958
34 Austin-Bergstrom International Airport AUS Austin TX 6,973,115 6,095,545 5,797,547 5,219,982
35 William P. Hobby Airport HOU Houston TX 6,741,870 6,285,181 5,937,944 5,800,726
36 Oakland International Airport OAK Oakland CA 6,530,308 5,934,639 5,506,672 5,069,257
37 Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport SJC San Jose CA 6,225,148 5,321,603 4,885,690 4,621,003
38 Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport MSY New Orleans LA 6,005,527 5,569,705 5,329,696 4,870,569
39 Raleigh-Durham International Airport RDU Raleigh/Durham NC 5,851,004 5,401,714 4,954,717 4,673,869
40 Kansas City International Airport MCI Kansas City MO 5,744,918 5,391,557 5,135,127 4,982,722
41 Sacramento International Airport SMF Sacramento CA 5,460,526 4,969,366 4,816,440 4,384,616
42 John Wayne Airport SNA Santa Ana CA 5,195,047 5,217,242 4,945,175 4,584,147
43 Cleveland Hopkins International Airport CLE Cleveland OH 4,562,740 4,205,739 4,083,476 3,686,315
44 San Antonio International Airport SAT San Antonio TX 4,521,611 4,179,994 4,091,389 4,046,856
45 Southwest Florida International Airport RSW Fort Myers FL 4,461,304 4,277,214 4,159,212 3,942,387
46 Indianapolis International Airport IND Indianapolis IN 4,376,432 4,216,766 3,889,567 3,605,908
47 Pittsburgh International Airport PIT Pittsburgh PA 4,327,431 3,986,114 3,890,677 3,827,860
48 Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport SJU San Juan PR 4,163,587 4,343,354 4,218,785 4,150,828
49 Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport CVG Cincinnati/Covington OH/KY 3,926,158 3,269,979 3,036,697 2,874,684
50 John Glenn Columbus International Airport CMH Columbus OH 3,765,007 3,567,864 3,312,496 3,115,501
51 Kahului Airport OGG Kahului HI 3,442,189 3,352,813 3,220,753 3,019,338
52 Bradley International Airport BDL Hartford CT 3,214,976 2,982,194 2,926,047 2,913,380
53 Palm Beach International Airport PBI West Palm Beach FL 3,166,532 3,100,624 3,113,485 2,926,242
54 General Mitchell International Airport MKE Milwaukee WI 3,121,910 3,327,536 3,229,876 3,228,607
55 Jacksonville International Airport JAX Jacksonville FL 2,759,067 2,729,129 2,716,465 2,589,198
56 Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport ANC Anchorage AK 2,556,188 2,563,524 2,525,876 2,381,826
57 Albuquerque International Sunport ABQ Albuquerque NM 2,483,861 2,341,719 2,323,850 2,354,184
58 Hollywood Burbank Airport BUR Burbank CA 2,365,361 2,104,625 1,972,531 1,931,948
59 Buffalo Niagara International Airport BUF Buffalo NY 2,348,463 2,313,724 2,331,545 2,378,469
60 Eppley Airfield OMA Omaha NE 2,303,223 2,127,387 2,046,155 2,020,354

46 busiest US airports by total passenger traffic (2016)

Listed according to data compiled by Airports Council International North America, and ranked according to total passengers during 2016.[15]

All 46 airports on this list are also featured on the FAA list, but the order varies. The FAA ranks by passengers boarding. ACI ranks by sum of boarding, disembarking, and flying through without leaving airplane. The statistics are slightly more than twice as high.

Rank Airport name Location IATA
Code		 Traffic Aircraft
Passengers % chg.
2015/16		 Movements % chg.
2015/16
1Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International AirportAtlanta, College Park, and Hapeville; GeorgiaATL104,171,935Increase2.6898,356Increase1.8
2Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles, CaliforniaLAX80,921,527Increase8.0697,138Increase6.3
3Chicago O'Hare International AirportChicago, IllinoisORD77,960,588Increase1.3867,635Decrease0.9
4Dallas/Fort Worth International AirportCoppell, Euless, Grapevine, and Irving; TexasDFW65,670,697Increase0.2672,748Decrease1.3
5John F. Kennedy International AirportQueens, New YorkJFK59,105,513Increase3.9452,415Increase3.0
6Denver International AirportDenver, ColoradoDEN58,266,515Increase7.9565,503Increase4.5
7San Francisco International AirportSan Mateo County, CaliforniaSFO53,099,282Increase6.1450,388Increase4.8
8McCarran International AirportParadise, NevadaLAS47,496,614Increase4.5541,428Increase2.1
9Seattle–Tacoma International AirportSeaTac, WashingtonSEA45,736,700Increase8.0412,170Increase8.1
10Miami International AirportMiami-Dade County, FloridaMIA44,584,603Increase0.5414,234Increase0.3
11Charlotte Douglas International AirportCharlotte, North CarolinaCLT44,422,022Decrease1.0545,742Increase0.3
12Phoenix Sky Harbor International AirportPhoenix, ArizonaPHX43,302,381Decrease1.6440,643Increase0.1
13Orlando International AirportOrlando, FloridaMCO41,923,399Increase8.0316,981Increase2.9
14George Bush Intercontinental AirportHouston, TexasIAH41,622,594Decrease3.3470,780Decrease6.4
15Newark Liberty International AirportNewark and Elizabeth, New JerseyEWR40,563,285Increase8.2435,907Increase5.3
16Minneapolis–Saint Paul International AirportHennepin County, MinnesotaMSP37,413,728Increase2.3412,872Increase2.0
17Logan International AirportBoston and Winthrop, MassachusettsBOS36,356,917Increase8.5372,930Increase2.5
18Detroit Metropolitan AirportRomulus, MichiganDTW34,401,254Increase2.9393,427Increase3.7
19Philadelphia International AirportPhiladelphia and Tinicum Township, PennsylvaniaPHL30,155,090Decrease4.1394,022Decrease4.2
20LaGuardia AirportQueens, New YorkLGA29,786,769Increase4.7369,987Increase2.7
21Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International AirportBroward County, FloridaFLL29,205,002Increase8.4290,239Increase4.4
22Baltimore–Washington International AirportAnne Arundel County, MarylandBWI25,122,651Increase5.4248,585Increase0.9
23Ronald Reagan Washington National AirportArlington, VirginiaDCA23,568,586Increase2.4295,038Increase0.8
24Salt Lake City International AirportSalt Lake City, UtahSLC23,157,445Increase4.5320,137Increase2.7
25Chicago Midway International AirportChicago, IllinoisMDW22,677,859Increase2.1253,046Decrease0.2
26Washington Dulles International AirportDulles, VirginiaIAD21,817,340Increase1.5265,743Decrease1.5
27San Diego International AirportSan Diego, CaliforniaSAN20,725,801Increase3.2197,132Increase1.5
28Daniel K. Inouye International AirportHonolulu, HawaiiHNL19,878,659 – 0.0316,154Increase1.1
29Tampa International AirportTampa, FloridaTPA18,931,922Increase0.6N/AN/A
30Portland International AirportPortland, OregonPDX18,352,767Increase8.9227,709Increase4.4
31Dallas Love FieldDallas, TexasDAL15,562,738Increase7.3224,193Increase3.7
32St. Louis Lambert International AirportSt. Louis, MissouriSTL13,959,126Increase9.5190,560Increase2.5
33Nashville International AirportNashville, TennesseeBNA12,979,803Increase11.2194,758Increase5.6
34William P. Hobby AirportHouston, TexasHOU12,909,075Increase6.1200,741Increase0.1
35Austin–Bergstrom International AirportAustin, TexasAUS12,436,849Increase4.5192,032Increase0.4
36Oakland International AirportOakland, CaliforniaOAK12,070,967Increase7.7222,771Increase3.3
37Louis Armstrong New Orleans International AirportKenner, LouisianaMSY11,365,487Increase4.6N/AN/A
38Raleigh–Durham International AirportMorrisville, North CarolinaRDU11,049,143Increase11.1191,348Increase5.6
39Kansas City International AirportKansas City, MissouriMCI11,041,767Increase5.4N/AN/A
40Norman Y. Mineta San José International AirportSan Jose, CaliforniaSJC10,796,725Increase10.2N/AN/A
41John Wayne AirportSanta Ana, CaliforniaSNA10,496,511Increase3.1284,246Increase9.0
42Sacramento International AirportSacramento, CaliforniaSMF10,118,794Increase5.3N/AN/A
43San Antonio International AirportSan Antonio, TexasSAT8,618,139Increase1.3N/AN/A
44Southwest Florida International AirportFort Myers, FloridaRSW8,604,673Increase2.8N/AN/A
45Indianapolis International AirportIndianapolis, IndianaIND8,511,959Increase6.4N/AN/A
46Cleveland Hopkins International AirportCleveland, OhioCLE8,422,676Increase3.8N/AN/A

20 busiest US airports by international passenger traffic (2016)

Listed according to data compiled by the Office of Aviation Analysis, part of the United States Department of Transportation, and ranked according to total international passengers during 2016.[16]

Rank Airport Name Location IATA
Code		 Traffic
Passengers % chg.
2016/15
1John F. Kennedy International AirportQueens, New YorkJFK31,305,193Increase6.3%
2Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles, CaliforniaLAX22,177,994Increase10.1%
3Miami International AirportMiami-Dade County, FloridaMIA19,688,934Decrease2.0%
4O'Hare International AirportChicago, IllinoisORD11,917,782Increase3.8%
5San Francisco International AirportSan Mateo County, CaliforniaSFO11,835,425Increase7.6%
6Newark Liberty International AirportNewark and Elizabeth, New JerseyEWR11,757,112Increase1.5%
7Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International AirportAtlanta, College Park, and Hapeville; GeorgiaATL11,194,192Increase3.8%
8George Bush Intercontinental AirportHouston, TexasIAH10,780,277Increase2.1%
9Dallas/Fort Worth International AirportCoppell, Euless, Grapevine, and Irving; TexasDFW7,821,342Increase3.1%
10Washington Dulles International AirportDulles, VirginiaIAD7,117,880Increase1.6%
11Logan International AirportBoston and Winthrop, MassachusettsBOS5,842,669Increase16.4%
12Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International AirportBroward County, FloridaFLL5,642,557Increase9.3%
13Orlando International AirportOrlando, FloridaMCO5,417,295Increase8.8%
14Daniel K. Inouye International AirportHonolulu, HawaiiHNL5,084,453Increase1.6%
15Seattle-Tacoma International AirportSeaTac, WashingtonSEA4,626,762Increase6.3%
16Philadelphia International AirportPhiladelphia and Tinicum Township, PennsylvaniaPHL3,685,920Decrease8.0%
17McCarran International AirportParadise, NevadaLAS3,497,658Increase2.7%
18Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County AirportRomulus, MichiganDTW3,263,216Decrease0.3%
19Charlotte Douglas International AirportCharlotte, North CarolinaCLT2,967,941Decrease0.4%
20Antonio B. Won Pat International AirportBarrigada and Tamuning, GuamGUM2,953,930Increase3.1%

10 busiest airports in the US by total cargo throughput (2015)

Listed according to data compiled by the Federal Aviation Administration for the United States, and ranked according to total cargo throughput in pounds during 2015.[17]

Rank Airport Name Location IATA
Code		 Cargo
Ibs. % chg.
2015/14
1Memphis International AirportMemphis, TennesseeMEM22,679,195,919Decrease-0.42%
2Ted Stevens Anchorage International AirportAnchorage, AlaskaANC17,139,250,601Increase8.01%
3Louisville International AirportLouisville, KentuckySDF12,057,543,654Increase4.23%
4O'Hare International AirportChicago, IllinoisORD9,063,649,529Increase20.19%
5Miami International AirportMiami, FloridaMIA7,630,761,702Increase6.09%
6Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles, CaliforniaLAX6,585,460,219Increase53.24%
7Indianapolis International AirportIndianapolis, IndianaIND5,324,737,760Decrease-0.58%
8Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International AirportHebron, KentuckyCVG4,019,745,706Increase10.30%
9Dallas/Fort Worth International AirportCoppell, Euless, Grapevine, and Irving; TexasDFW3,328,784,075Increase5.99%
10John F. Kennedy International AirportQueens, New YorkJFK3,255,916,985Increase2.68%

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Statistics" (PDF). faa.gov. 2014.
  2. ↑ Sean Broderick (Jul 23, 2018). "Mature U.S. Market Has Room For Upstarts". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  3. ↑ https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/media/preliminary-cy2017-commercial-service-enplanements.pdfRetrieved+2018-08-06.
  4. 1 2 https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/media/cy16-commercial-service-enplanements.pdf
  5. ↑ "Calendar Year 2015 Revenue Enplanements at Commercial Service Airports". Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  6. ↑ "CY 2014 Primary Airports -- Preliminary Data" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "CY 2013 Primary Airports" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "CY 2012 Primary Airports" (PDF).
  9. ↑ "CY 2011 Primary Airports" (PDF).
  10. ↑ CY 2010 Enplanements at Primary Airports Archived 2015-02-02 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. 1 2 "Passenger Boarding (Enplanement) and All-Cargo Data for U.S. Airports – Airports". www.faa.gov.
  12. ↑ "Federal Aviation Administration 2007 passenger boarding statistics" (PDF).
  13. ↑ "Federal Aviation Administration 2006 passenger boarding statistics" (PDF).
  14. ↑ "Federal Aviation Administration 2005 passenger boarding statistics" (PDF).
  15. ↑ "Airport Traffic Reports". Airports Council International - North America. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  16. ↑ U.S. International Air Passenger and Freight Statistics, December 2016 (pdf) (Report). International Aviation Developments Series. U.S. Department of Transportation. 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  17. ↑ "U.S. Airports" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved 1 January 2017.

United States Department of Transportation:

  • "Top 20 U.S. Gateways for Nonstop International Air Travel: 2008 and 2009". Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
  • "Top 20 U.S. Gateways for Nonstop International Air Travel: 2005 and 2006". Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
  • "Top 20 U.S. Gateways for Nonstop International Air Travel: 1990, 1995, and 2000". Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
  • "Top 20 Routes for U.S. International Airport Pair Passengers: 1990, 1995, and 2000". Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
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