List of the busiest airports in the United States explained

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

Busiest U.S. airports by total passenger boardings

The FAA uses passenger boarding for a half calendar year to determine Airport Improvement Program (AIP) entitlements. The term "hub" is used by the FAA to identify busy commercial service airports. Large hubs are the 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 1 percent of the total passenger enplanements.^[1]

Large hubs

Rank (2023)	Airports (large)	IATA Code	Major cities served	Metro area	State	2023^[2]	2022^[3]	2021^[4]	2020^[5]	2019^[6]	2018^[7]	2017^[8]	2016^[9]	2015^[10]	2014^[11]
1	Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport	ATL	Atlanta	Atlanta	GA	50,950,068	45,396,001	36,676,010	20,559,866	53,505,795	51,865,797	50,251,964	50,501,858	49,340,732	46,604,273
2	Los Angeles International Airport	LAX	Los Angeles	Greater Los Angeles	CA	40,956,673	32,326,616	23,663,410	14,055,777	42,939,104	42,624,050	41,232,432	39,636,042	36,351,272	34,314,197
3	Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport	DFW	Dallas and Fort Worth	Dallas–Fort Worth	TX	39,246,212	35,345,138	30,005,266	18,593,421	35,778,573	32,821,799	31,816,933	31,283,579	31,589,839	30,804,567
4	Denver International Airport	DEN	Denver	Denver	CO	37,863,967	33,773,832	28,645,527	16,243,216	33,592,945	31,362,941	29,809,097	28,267,394	26,280,043	26,000,591
5	O'Hare International Airport	ORD	Chicago	Chicagoland	IL	35,843,104	33,120,474	26,350,976	14,606,034	40,871,223	39,873,927	38,593,028	37,589,899	36,305,668	33,843,426
6	John F. Kennedy International Airport	JFK	New York City	New York Metro	NY	30,804,355	27,154,885	15,273,342	8,269,819	31,036,655	30,620,769	29,533,154	29,239,151	27,782,369	26,244,928
7	Orlando International Airport	MCO	Orlando	Greater Orlando	FL	28,033,205	24,469,733	19,618,838	10,467,728	24,562,271	23,202,480	21,565,448	20,283,541	18,759,938	17,278,608
8	Harry Reid International Airport	LAS	Las Vegas	Las Vegas	NV	27,896,199	25,480,500	19,160,342	10,584,059	24,728,361	23,795,012	23,364,393	22,833,267	21,857,693	20,620,248
9	Charlotte Douglas International Airport	CLT	Charlotte	Charlotte	NC	25,896,224	23,100,300	20,900,875	12,952,869	24,199,688	22,281,949	22,011,251	21,511,880	21,913,166	21,537,725
10	Miami International Airport	MIA	Miami	Miami Metro	FL	24,717,048	23,949,892	17,500,096	8,786,007	21,421,031	21,021,640	20,709,225	20,875,813	20,986,349	19,471,466
11	Seattle–Tacoma International Airport	SEA	Seattle and Tacoma	Seattle Metro	WA	24,594,210	22,157,862	17,430,195	9,462,411	25,001,762	24,024,908	22,639,124	21,887,110	20,148,980	17,888,080
12	Newark Liberty International Airport	EWR	Newark	New York Metro	NJ	24,575,320	21,774,690	14,514,049	7,985,474	23,160,763	22,797,602	21,571,198	19,923,009	18,684,818	17,773,405
13	San Francisco International Airport	SFO	San Francisco	San Francisco Bay Area	CA	24,191,159	20,411,420	11,725,347	7,745,057	27,779,230	27,790,717	26,900,048	25,707,101	24,190,560	22,770,783
14	Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport	PHX	Phoenix	Phoenix	AZ	23,880,504	21,852,586	18,940,287	10,531,436	22,433,552	21,622,580	21,185,458	20,896,265	21,351,504	20,344,867
15	George Bush Intercontinental Airport	IAH	Houston	Houston	TX	22,228,844	19,814,052	16,242,821	8,682,558	21,905,309	21,157,398	19,603,731	20,062,072	20,595,881	19,772,087
16	Logan International Airport	BOS	Boston	Boston	MA	19,962,678	17,443,775	10,909,817	6,035,452	20,699,377	20,006,521	18,759,742	17,759,044	16,290,362	15,507,561
17	Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport	FLL	Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood	Miami Metro	FL	17,063,063	15,370,165	13,598,994	8,015,744	17,950,989	17,612,331	15,817,043	14,263,270	13,061,632	12,031,860
18	Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport	MSP	Minneapolis and Saint Paul	Minneapolis–Saint Paul	MN	17,019,128	15,242,089	12,211,409	7,069,720	19,192,917	18,361,942	18,409,704	18,123,844	17,634,273	16,972,678
19	LaGuardia Airport	LGA	New York City	New York Metro	NY	16,173,073	14,367,463	7,827,307	4,147,116	15,393,601	15,058,501	14,614,802	14,762,593	14,319,924	13,535,372
20	Detroit Metropolitan Airport	DTW	Detroit	Detroit Metro	MI	15,378,601	13,751,197	11,517,696	6,822,324	18,143,040	17,436,837	17,036,092	16,847,135	16,255,520	15,775,941
21	Philadelphia International Airport	PHL	Philadelphia	Philadelphia Metro	PA	13,656,189	12,421,168	9,820,222	5,753,239	16,006,389	15,292,670	14,271,243	14,564,419	15,101,349	14,792,339
22	Salt Lake City International Airport	SLC	Salt Lake City	Salt Lake City	UT	12,905,368	12,383,843	10,795,906	5,753,239	12,840,841	12,226,730	11,615,954	11,143,738	10,634,538	10,139,065
23	Baltimore/Washington International Airport	BWI	Baltimore and Washington, D.C.	Baltimore	MD	12,849,721	11,151,169	9,253,561	5,451,355	13,284,687	13,371,816	12,976,554	12,340,972	11,738,845	11,022,200
24	Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport	DCA	Washington, D.C.	Washington Metro	VA	12,365,030	11,553,850	6,731,737	3,573,489	11,595,454	11,367,176	11,506,310	11,470,854	11,242,375	10,057,794
25	San Diego International Airport	SAN	San Diego	San Diego	CA	12,190,183	11,162,224	7,836,360	4,637,856	12,648,692	12,174,224	11,139,933	10,340,164	9,985,763	9,333,152
26	Dulles International Airport	IAD	Washington, D.C.	Washington Metro	VA	12,073,571	10,266,324	7,227,875	3,862,658	11,884,117	11,621,623	11,024,306	10,596,942	10,363,974	10,415,948
27	Tampa International Airport	TPA	Tampa	Tampa	FL	11,677,632	10,539,459	8,847,197	4,966,775	10,978,756	10,368,514	9,548,580	9,194,994	9,150,458	8,531,561
28	Nashville International Airport	BNA	Nashville	Nashville	TN	11,227,243	9,829,062	7,594,049	4,013,995	8,935,654	8,017,347	6,902,771	6,338,517	5,715,205	5,396,958
29	Austin–Bergstrom International Airport	AUS	Austin	Austin	TX	10,833,443	10,382,573	6,666,215	3,141,505	8,683,711	7,921,797	6,973,115	6,095,545	5,797,547	5,219,982
30	Midway International Airport	MDW	Chicago	Chicagoland	IL	10,659,520	9,650,281	7,680,617	4,236,603	10,081,781	10,678,018	10,912,074	11,044,387	10,830,850	10,311,996
31	Daniel K. Inouye International Airport	HNL	Honolulu	Honolulu	HI	10,149,761	8,828,395	5,830,928	3,126,391	9,988,678	9,578,505	9,743,989	9,656,340	9,656,340	9,463,000

Medium hubs

Rank (2023)	Airports (medium hubs)	IATA Code	City served	Metro Area	State	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
32	Dallas Love Field	DAL	Dallas	Dallas–Fort Worth	TX	8,559,052	7,819,129	6,487,563	3,669,930	8,408,457	8,134,848	7,876,769	7,554,596	7,040,921	4,522,341
33	Portland International Airport	PDX	Portland	Portland	OR	8,123,054	7,241,882	5,759,879	3,455,877	9,797,408	9,940,866	9,435,473	9,071,154	8,340,234	7,878,760
34	St. Louis Lambert International Airport	STL	St. Louis	St. Louis	MO	7,307,561	6,709,080	5,070,471	3,041,765	7,946,986	7,822,274	7,372,805	6,793,076	6,239,231	6,108,758
35	Raleigh–Durham International Airport	RDU	Raleigh	Research Triangle	NC	7,119,040	5,849,665	4,311,049	2,337,496	6,919,429	6,416,822	5,851,004	5,401,714	4,954,717	4,673,869
36	William P. Hobby Airport	HOU	Houston	Houston	TX	6,800,329	6,462,948	5,560,780	3,127,178	7,069,614	6,937,061	6,741,870	6,285,181	5,937,944	5,800,726
37	Sacramento International Airport	SMF	Sacramento	Sacramento	CA	6,371,910	6,040,824	4,760,275	2,710,342	6,454,413	6,031,630	5,460,526	4,969,366	4,816,440	4,384,616
38	Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport	MSY	New Orleans	New Orleans	LA	6,309,212	5,931,899	4,017,147	2,632,606	6,717,105	6,565,482	6,005,527	5,569,705	5,329,696	4,870,569
39	Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport	SJU	San Juan	San Juan	PR	5,985,001	5,039,771	4,738,725	2,362,851	4,590,117	4,033,412	4,163,587	4,343,354	4,218,785	4,150,828
40	Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport	SJC	San Jose	San Francisco Bay Area	CA	5,958,855	5,590,137	3,619,690	2,283,186	7,828,885	7,140,616	6,225,148	5,321,603	4,885,690	4,621,003
41	John Wayne Airport	SNA	Santa Ana	Greater Los Angeles	CA	5,706,332	5,536,313	3,807,205	1,824,836	5,153,276	5,317,149	5,195,047	5,217,242	4,945,175	4,584,147
42	Kansas City International Airport	MCI	Kansas City	Kansas City	MO	5,654,068	4,796,476	3,795,290	2,167,616	5,759,419	5,935,131	5,744,918	5,391,557	5,135,127	4,982,722
43	San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport	OAK	Oakland	San Francisco Bay Area	CA	5,520,812	5,506,232	4,011,953	2,271,294	6,560,230	6,798,321	6,530,308	5,934,639	5,506,672	5,069,257
44	San Antonio International Airport	SAT	San Antonio	San Antonio	TX	5,336,684	4,751,610	3,677,643	1,919,958	5,022,980	4,844,427	4,521,611	4,179,994	4,091,389	4,046,856
45	Southwest Florida International Airport	RSW	Fort Myers	Southwest Florida	FL	4,963,269	5,132,694	5,080,805	2,947,139	5,144,467	4,719,568	4,461,304	4,350,650	4,231,134	4,025,959
46	Cleveland Hopkins International Airport	CLE	Cleveland	Cleveland	OH	4,803,822	4,237,795	3,552,402	1,990,156	4,894,541	4,836,580	4,562,740	4,205,739	4,083,476	3,686,315
47	Indianapolis International Airport	IND	Indianapolis	Indianapolis	IN	4,788,376	4,209,416	3,487,100	1,989,126	4,709,183	4,695,040	4,376,432	4,216,766	3,889,567	3,605,908
48	Pittsburgh International Airport	PIT	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh	PA	4,493,052	3,918,968	3,069,259	1,742,406	4,715,947	4,670,033	4,327,431	3,986,114	3,890,677	3,827,860
49	Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport	CVG	Cincinnati	Cincinnati	KY	4,287,722	3,702,997	3,050,597	1,729,395	4,413,457	4,269,258	3,926,158	3,269,979	3,036,697	2,874,684
50	John Glenn Columbus International Airport	CMH	Columbus	Columbus	OH	4,095,189	3,618,555	2,825,259	1,577,596	4,172,067	4,054,572	3,765,007	3,567,864	3,312,496	3,115,501
51	Palm Beach International Airport	PBI	West Palm Beach	Miami Metro	FL	3,815,977	3,257,730	2,567,897	1,518,732	3,460,429	3,263,042	3,166,532	3,100,624	3,113,485	2,926,242
52	Kahului Airport	OGG	Kahului	Maui	HI	3,745,866	4,125,311	2,933,315	1,135,141	3,791,807	3,572,133	3,442,189	3,352,813	3,220,753	3,019,338
53	Jacksonville International Airport	JAX	Jacksonville	Jacksonville	FL	3,619,739	3,177,393	2,425,685	1,367,501	3,479,923	3,118,540	2,759,067	2,799,587	2,716,465	2,589,198
54	Ontario International Airport	ONT	Ontario	Greater Los Angeles	CA	3,181,161	2,840,758	2,201,528	1,237,946	2,723,002	2,499,171	2,247,645	2,127,387	2,089,801	2,037,346
55	Hollywood Burbank Airport	BUR	Burbank	Greater Los Angeles	CA	3,132,029	3,054,729	1,942,417	1,056,838	2,988,720	2,680,240	2,402,106	2,077,892	1,973,897	1,928,491
56	Bradley International Airport	BDL	Hartford	Hartford	CT	3,122,212	2,844,713	2,273,259	1,150,033	3,323,614	3,330,734	3,214,976	2,982,194	2,926,047	2,913,380
57	Charleston International Airport	CHS	Charleston	Charleston	SC	3,032,768	2,608,497	2,015,277	944,660	2,375,868	2,192,893	1,945,699	1,811,695	1,669,988	1,539,326
58	Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport	MKE	Milwaukee	Milwaukee	WI	2,959,840	2,671,281	2,231,010	1,263,385	3,374,073	3,548,817	3,452,544	3,383,271	3,229,876	3,228,607
59	Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport	ANC	Anchorage	Anchorage	AK	2,681,818	2,604,308	2,184,959	1,157,301	2,713,843	2,642,901	2,556,188	2,563,524	2,525,876	2,381,826
60	Albuquerque International Sunport	ABQ	Albuquerque	Albuquerque	NM	2,605,163	2,317,836	1,688,646	868,922	2,641,450	2,647,269	2,412,328	2,341,719	2,323,883	2,354,184
61	Eppley Airfield	OMA	Omaha	Omaha	NE	2,464,418	2,204,395	1,829,912	1,036,245	2,455,274	2,457,087	2,303,223	2,127,387	2,046,155	2,020,354
62	Memphis International Airport	MEM	Memphis	Memphis	TN	2,399,876	2,163,692	1,793,073	1,015,981	2,318,442	2,213,083	2,102,739	2,016,089	1,873,716	1,800,268
63	Richmond International Airport	RIC	Richmond	Richmond	VA	2,399,239	2,042,834	1,603,149	847,811	2,190,907	2,048,691	1,822,486	1,777,648	1,740,391	1,671,096
64	Boise Airport	BOI	Boise	Boise	ID	2,369,164	2,230,467	1,809,000	991,241	2,057,750	1,943,181	1,777,642	1,633,507	1,487,777	1,378,352

Busiest U.S. airports by international passenger traffic

Rank	Airport name	Location	IATA Code	2023^[12]	2022^[13]	2021^[14]	2020^[15]	2019^[16]
1			JFK	32,481,057	25,178,878	12,466,165	8,219,317	33,432,159
2			LAX	21,503,227	15,940,358	7,862,532	6,246,602	25,210,140
3			MIA	21,382,328	18,985,551	11,592,445	6,565,834	20,735,658
4	Newark Liberty International Airport	Newark, New Jersey	EWR	14,080,779	11,344,732	6,250,880	3,688,541	14,087,622
5			SFO	13,224,356	9,298,781	3,139,041	3,210,024	14,357,960
6	O'Hare International Airport	Chicago, Illinois	ORD	13,152,578	10,746,991	5,148,494	3,481,860	13,412,885
7			ATL	12,088,444	9,543,318	5,474,264	3,347,184	12,268,779
8			IAH	11,279,214	9,124,043	6,458,473	3,491,935	10,764,589
9			DFW	10,691,190	8,992,922	5,852,397	3,268,822	9,103,438
10	Washington Dulles International Airport	Dulles, Virginia	IAD	8,963,807	6,690,447	3,230,027	1,917,510	7,990,292
11			BOS	7,651,625	5,459,853	2,046,561	1,574,712	7,534,504
12	Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	FLL	7,430,312	6,125,500	4,016,553	2,839,383	8,524,251
13			MCO	6,696,949	5,214,203	1,837,706	1,525,177	6,957,048
14			SEA	5,517,422	4,004,180	1,393,603	1,273,179	5,392,147
15			CLT	4,140,531	3,183,695	1,989,704	1,069,001	3,405,907
16			DEN	3,823,871	3,222,132	1,856,124	934,563	3,037,012
17			PHL	3,518,548	2,613,240	988,733	682,030	3,847,253
18			HNL	3,134,548	1,565,985	167,502	1,052,697	5,207,875
19			LAS	3,133,224	2,439,479	738,257	711,614	3,462,627
20			DTW	2,835,905	2,092,098	966,375	873,744	3,717,775
21			MSP	2,817,694	1,942,385	673,759	835,721	3,144,386
22			PHX	2,481,029	1,957,189	1,223,856	750,138	1,958,468
23			LGA	1,793,314	1,334,733	309,217	393,011	2,206,518
24			SLC	1,250,372	846,680	578,710	302,640	1,034,704
25			BWI	1,201,948	1,006,908	651,636	341,035	1,104,208

Busiest U.S. airports by total cargo throughput

See main article: List of largest cargo airports in the United States. Listed according to data compiled by the Federal Aviation Administration for the United States and ranked according to total cargo throughput in pounds during 2017.^[17]

Rank	Airport name	Location	IATA code	Cargo
				Ibs.	% chg. 2017/16
1			MEM	23,949,525,780	0.35%
2			ANC	17,337,337,377	2.79%
3			SDF	13,403,682,652	4.68%
4			ORD	10,373,559,593	10.84%
5			MIA	7,963,988,407	0.82%
6			LAX	7,197,930,264	3.85%
7			CVG	5,700,282,994	33.32%
8			IND	5,138,500,318	-3.58%
9			DFW	4,155,362,297	7.65%
10			ONT	3,522,510,318	15.81%

See also

• List of airports in the United States
• List of the busiest airports in California
• List of busiest airports by passenger traffic

External links

United States Department of Transportation:

• Web site: Top 20 U.S. Gateways for Nonstop International Air Travel: 2008 and 2009 . Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
• Web site: Top 20 U.S. Gateways for Nonstop International Air Travel: 2005 and 2006 . Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
• Web site: Top 20 U.S. Gateways for Nonstop International Air Travel: 1990, 1995, and 2000. Bureau of Transportation Statistics .
• Web site: Top 20 Routes for U.S. International Airport Pair Passengers: 1990, 1995, and 2000 . Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) 2005-2009
• FAA National Flight Data Center (NFDC): Airport Data (Form 5010), also available from AirportIQ 5010

Notes and References

1. Web site: Airport Categories . 2023-02-03 . Federal Aviation Administration.
2. Web site: 2024-09-27 . Final CY23 Enplanements at All Commercial Service Airports .
3. Web site: 2023-09-01 . Final CY2022 Commercial Service Airports, Rank Order .
4. Web site: 2022-09-16 . CY 2021 Commercial Service Airports, Rank Order . Federal Aviation Administration . 2023-02-03 . 2023-02-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230203221726/https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/2022-09/cy21-commercial-service-enplanements.pdf . live .
5. Web site: CY 2020 Commercial Service Enplanements Data . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210903235454/https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/media/cy20-commercial-service-enplanements.pdf . 2021-09-03 . 2021-12-28 . Faa.gov.
6. Web site: CY 2019 Commercial Service Enplanements Data . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210227133025/https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/media/cy19-commercial-service-enplanements.pdf . 2021-02-27 . 2021-01-24 . Faa.gov.
7. Web site: Preliminary CY 2018 Commercial Service Enplanements . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20191016011127/https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/media/cy18-commercial-service-enplanements.pdf . 2019-10-16 . 2019-08-16 . Faa.gov.
8. Web site: Preliminary CY 2017 Commercial Service Enplanements Data . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190331204519/https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/media/cy17-commercial-service-enplanements.pdf . 2019-03-31 . 2018-08-06 . Faa.gov.
9. Web site: Commercial Service Airports (Rank Order) 10/5/2017 : based on Calendar Year 2016 Enplanements . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20171025022058/https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/media/cy16-commercial-service-enplanements.pdf . 25 October 2017 . 5 February 2019 . Faa.gov.
10. Web site: Calendar Year 2015 Revenue Enplanements at Commercial Service Airports . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161014061007/https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/media/cy15-commercial-service-enplanements.pdf . October 14, 2016 . July 5, 2015 . Federal Aviation Administration.
11. Web site: CY 2014 Primary Airports -- Preliminary Data . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190503043632/https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/media/cy14-commercial-service-enplanements.pdf . 3 May 2019 . 5 February 2019 . Faa.gov.
12. US International Air Passenger and Freight Statistics for December 2023. U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, D.C.. 2024-10-10. live.
13. US International Air Passenger and Freight Statistics for December 2022. U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, D.C.. 2024-10-10. live.
14. US International Air Passenger and Freight Statistics for December 2021. U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, D.C.. 2022-09-26. 2022-09-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20220926074218/https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-07/US%20International%20Air%20Passenger%20and%20Freight%20Statistics%20for%20December%202021.pdf. live.
15. US International Air Passenger and Freight Statistics Report for December 2020. U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, D.C.. 2022-09-26. 2022-05-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20220520072846/https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2021-07/US%20International%20Air%20Passenger%20and%20Freight%20Statistics%20for%20December%202020.pdf. live.
16. US International Air Passenger and Freight Statistics for December 2019. U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, D.C.. 2022-09-26. 2023-02-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20230203221734/https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2020-12/US%20International%20Air%20Passenger%20and%20Freight%20Statistics%20for%20December%202019.pdf. live.
17. Web site: U.S. Airports. Federal Aviation Administration. 4 January 2018. 5 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190105043239/https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/media/cy17-cargo-airports.pdf. live.