by "ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
Published 11/09/2017 at 12:30
by "ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
Published 11/09/2017 at 12:30
Tags: wingspan
STARS: 5
As any air traveler can tell you, airports are getting busier and busier. But which airport is the busiest in the world?
As a child, my fascination with aviation was kindled by numerous flights from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (KORD). Chicago’s central location in the continental United States made it an aviation crossroads, and helped give O’Hare the status of the world’s busiest airport at the time, a title that I took pride in, as my brother and I added, if only in a minuscule way, to the flood of passengers traveling to points around the globe. In the years since, O’Hare has slipped, and is now number six in the Airport Council International (ACI) rankings of busiest airports based on the number of passengers starting or ending their journey at, or making a connection through, a particular airport. Today, the honor of world’s busiest goes to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (KATL).
Looking at data from ACI for 2016, a total of 104,171,935 passengers passed through the gates and terminals of KATL. That is a rise of 2.6% over the previous year, which means that the world’s busiest airport is only getting busier. KATL also handled 898,356 landings and takeoffs last year, an increase of 1.8% over 2015. KATL has held the record for passenger numbers since 1998, and has held the record for the number of landings and takeoffs since 2005, with the exception of 2014, when it came second to O’Hare.
These impressive numbers are possible due to KATL’s strategic location on the eastern edge of the United States. Not only is it well-positioned for international flights eastward to Europe and Africa, or westward to Asia, KATL also lies within a two-hour flight of 80% of the US population, meaning many domestic flights pass through KATL on their way to other destinations. With 207 domestic and international gates, KATL also serves as the corporate and operational hub for Delta Air Lines, which boasts 1,000 departures to 217 destinations every day.
As for the runners up, Beijing Capital International Airport and Dubai International Airport hosted 94,393,454 and 83,654,250 passengers respectively last year, but both are also growing at a faster rate than KATL, an indicator of the rapid expansion of business and leisure travel, and the booming economies of China and Dubai.
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"EL_ULY" (uly)
11/09/2017 at 12:40, STARS: 0
I was going to say CLT or DFW. Every time i’ve been to ATL it never seemed too busy. IAH during huge petroleum conventions or during the holidays is impossiburruuu
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
11/09/2017 at 12:45, STARS: 3
United & Continental: Let’s put hubs where it snows
Delta: Let’s put hubs where it doesn’t snow
Delta: LOL nvm we’re buying Western and Northwest
"PotbellyJoe and 42 others" (potbellyjoe)
11/09/2017 at 12:52, STARS: 1
I’ve slept in Hartsfield-Jackson more than any person should have to. I used to service accounts in Memphis and St Louis from my NYC digs and direct flights were pretty rare. Everything went through ATL. Well, in the winter when the weather is shit up here, and in the spring, summer and fall when the rains screw up everything down there, I found myself stranded more than a few times in ATL and thanks to the crazy volume it handles, so did the rest of the flying community. That meant no hotel rooms on more than a few occasions. Once I even slept behind the counter of the gate I would be flying out of in the morning because it was a 6AM flight and I had finally gotten into ATL at 2AM.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
11/09/2017 at 12:54, STARS: 1
Snowstorms @ORD >> Thunderstorms @ATL
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
11/09/2017 at 12:56, STARS: 1
But we’ve built MOAR runways here at KORD so we can overtake them all again!
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
11/09/2017 at 13:57, STARS: 2
Pyongyang?
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
11/09/2017 at 13:59, STARS: 0
SWA’s CEO made a claim in the opening column in their printed magazine that their pilots were extra proficient because they got lots of take-off and landing experience. A pilot I knew decided to take offense at that claim. I guess their experience is mostly where it doesn’t snow, which is causes a bit of a hole in their resume.
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
11/09/2017 at 14:05, STARS: 1
You’re welcome.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/09/2017 at 14:13, STARS: 0
I love that sign.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/09/2017 at 14:14, STARS: 0
What if they built an airport and nobody came?
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
11/09/2017 at 14:27, STARS: 2
What if they built an entire
city
and nobody came?
"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
11/09/2017 at 15:57, STARS: 0
I’m not a big fan of ATL. Parts of it are just too crowded. The ease of getting around DFW is why I’m an AA guy. Speaking of which I have a 9 hour flight AA tomorrow to......... MIA. Not DFW. MIA. Where I have a 6 hour layover. Crap.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/09/2017 at 16:04, STARS: 1
My favorite part of DFW is the external people mover tram. I don’t fly often, but when I do, I allow extra time between flights just to do a couple of laps on that thing.
"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
11/09/2017 at 16:16, STARS: 0
It is fun to take it the whole way around if you have the time just to see all of the planes. The first couple 787’s I saw in person were from the SkyLink. I love it though because the trains come every few minutes. It’s so easy to get from gate to gate across terminals at DFW.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
11/09/2017 at 17:20, STARS: 1
First 787 I ever saw was this AA bird that I photographed from Founder’s Plaza at DFW. Did you know that the engines on the 787 are almost the same diameter as the fuselage on the 737?
" The Compromiser" (charger)
11/09/2017 at 19:27, STARS: 1
I would argue that the busiest airport is always the one you are at. I don’t care how bad Ohare is unless I’m there. Or at Pearson, or Newark, or DFW. Or ElPaso .