Busiest Airports in the US – Comparing Volume, Flights, & Airlines with Overall Airport Size

Written By Amy Lancelotte

6 minutes read
Last Updated: February 10, 2025

To establish the busiest airports in the US for 2025, our team reviewed passenger numbers, average daily flights, total aircraft movements, and the number of airlines that use each airport. To dive deeper, we also looked at whether there was a correlation between size and busyness. The findings may surprise you.

Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is the busiest airport in the United States for passenger volume – a staggering 104.7 million people used the facility in 2023. But, Atlanta International Airport doesn’t top the list for the most daily flights, which is another good indicator of crowding. It also welcomes a below-average number of airlines and doesn’t even crack the top 10 in terms of actual size.

Let’s get into all our findings and decide once and for all which airport in the US is the busiest (and the biggest).

Top 10 Busiest Airports in the U.S. by Passenger Volume

1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – 104.7 million 
2. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport – 81.7 million
3. Denver International Airport – 77.8 million
4. Los Angeles International Airport – 75.1 million
5. Chicago O'Hare International Airport – 73.9 million
6. John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York) – 62.5 million
7. Orlando International Airport – 57.7 million
8. Harry Reid International Airport (Las Vegas) – 57.6 million
9. Charlotte Douglas International Airport – 53.4 million
10. Miami International Airport – 52.3 million

Based solely on the number of passengers, ATL is the busiest airport in the US. This distinction stays true for North America and beyond as it’s the busiest airport in the world for passenger volume, period. According to the FAA, in 2023 the country had over 943 million enplanements, which is the number of passengers boarding. That means that Atlanta Airport alone accounts for 11.1% of that volume.

In 2023, ATL had over 20 million passengers more than the second-place finisher of Dallas Fort Forth and double the passenger volume of Miami Airport. On a worldwide scale, Dubai International Airport started challenging for the title in 2024 with 92.3 million passengers and a seat capacity of over 60 million. 

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is showing no signs of slowing down either. Compared to 2022, the airport saw an 11.7% increase in passenger volume. During the busiest part of the travel season, from December 20, 2024, to January 5, 2025, the airport prepared for up to 3.7 million passengers. Let that sink in. For just over a 2-week period, nearly 4 million people will pass through the airport. Now that’s busy!

In fact, ATL is really embracing its status as the busiest airport. So much so that they have launched a podcast titled “Under the Canopy: Stories Behind the World’s Busiest Airport.” The city’s mayor, Andre Dickens, also felt the need to honour the airport’s status as the busiest in the world. He said:

Hartsfield-Jackson is not only a critical asset for our city but also for the global aviation community. Its continued success underscores Atlanta's position as a major international gateway. We are proud of the Airport's achievements and look forward to its continued growth and contributions to our economy.

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10 Busiest US Airports by Daily Flights

1. Chicago O’Hare International Airport – 815
2. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport – 786
3. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport – 762
4. Denver International Airport – 736
5. Charlotte Douglas International Airport – 671
6. Los Angeles International Airport – 554
7. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston) – 504
8. Miami International Airport – 497
9. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport – 481
10. Newark Liberty International Airport – 451

Using the most recent data from FlightsFrom.com from January 2025, Chicago’s O’Hare tops the list of the busiest airports in the US based on daily flights. With a domestic destination list of nearly 200 and 278 in total, O’Hare likely has your next trip covered.

To find others that placed in the top 10 for passengers, we have to look to the 11th spot for JFK Airport with 441 daily flights, 12th for Las Vegas’ Harry Reid Airport with 429, and 13th for Orlando Airport with 427.

Since this is just a one-month snapshot and air traffic can fluctuate by season, let’s also review the overall movements.

In 2023, according to Airports Council International (ACI), Atlanta was still on top for aircraft movements. Of the 20 airports mentioned in this worldwide study, 11 were located in the USA and Atlanta retains its title. 

1. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport – 775, 818
2. Chicago O’Hare International Airport – 720,582
3. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport – 689,569
4. Denver International Airport – 657,218
5. Harry Reid International Airport (Las Vegas) – 611,806
6. Los Angeles International Airport – 575,097
7. Charlotte Douglas International Airport – 539,066
8. John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York) – 481,075
9. Miami International Airport – 461,792
10. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport – 454,665

Top 10 Airports in the USA by Number of Airlines 

The higher the number of airlines an airport accommodates, the higher the chances of it being busy. Of the busiest airports in the US by total passenger volume, we checked out how many airlines offer air travel to and from each.

1. John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York) – 90+
2. Miami International Airport - 80+
3. Chicago O’Hare International Airport – 48
4. Los Angeles International Airport – 40+
5. Orlando International Airport – 39
6. Harry Reid International Airport (Las Vegas) – 32
7. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport – 31
8. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport – 30
9. Denver International Airport – 27
10. Charlotte Douglas International Airport – 26

Finally, Hartsfield-Jackson, the major hub for Delta Air Lines, is knocked off its perch by New York’s JFK Airport. JFK is a significant point to connect to the US from overseas.

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The Biggest Airports in the US by Size

Now that we know that ATL pretty much dominates for overall busyness, how does it stack up in size? The reality is that it doesn’t even rank in the top 10 in the country, covering just 7.34 square miles (or 19.02km²).

1. Denver International Airport – 52.4 square miles/135.7 km²
2. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport – 26.9 square miles/69.6km²
3. Orlando International Airport – 20.8 square miles/53.8km²
4. Dulles International Airport (Washington, DC) – 20 square miles/52.6km²
5. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston) – 15.6 square miles/40km²
6. Salt Lake City International Airport – 12.05 square miles/31.2km²
7. Chicago O’Hare International Airport – 11.9 square miles/30.9km²
8. San Francisco International Airport – 8.13 square miles/21.07km²
9. John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York) – 8.1 square miles/21km²
10. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport – 7.35 square miles/19.04km²

Denver has the biggest airport in the US by a long shot. In fact, the airport is almost half the size of the entire city of Atlanta (134 square miles/347 km²). Although the biggest, DEN only has a single 2.6 million square foot terminal. To put that in perspective, LAX has 9 terminals, and DFW in Dallas has 5.

Are Bigger and Busier the Same Thing? Our Findings

Technically, the biggest airport in the US isn’t the same as the busiest. As for what’s the biggest airport in the US, that honour goes to Denver, which, although definitely busy, is the third-busiest airport in the country. It’s also the second-largest airport in the world.

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is hands down the busiest for passenger traffic and aircraft movements. With its single terminal and size covering a little over 7 square miles (18km²), it’s far from the biggest airport in the US, and must have efficient airport systems to manage all that traffic!

New York’s JFK Airport accommodates the most variety of airlines and Chicago O’Hare offers the most daily flights.

So, we can safely say that there is a slight correlation between how busy an airport is and its size, but bigger doesn’t necessarily mean busier.

As a traveller, be prepared to deal with crowds pretty much any time of year at ATL, and getting around the biggest airport in the US, DEN, will require some walking!

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