The skies over Dallas-Fort Worth are buzzing with more than just holiday traffic this year. The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) landed a top spot on the OAG's Busy Global Airports list, soaring to fifth place, a jump from its thirteenth position just four years ago. With a staggering 48 million-plus seats, DFW sits behind behemoths like London Heathrow and Tokyo International, according to The Dallas Express.
While DFW has long been a heavyweight in the air travel industry, it's only in recent years that it has begun to quickly clout the ranks. As per a news release from OAG, in 2022, DFW was ranked third, edged out by only Dubai and Atlanta. Airports Council International data also puts DFW as the second-busiest in the world by passenger traffic last year, with over 73 million passengers—a testament to the resilience and growth of air travel post-pandemic, despite a slight dip from its 2019 figures, as noted by FOX 4 News.
This year's top 10 sees two American airports, Denver International (DEN) and DFW, making powerful strides, not present in the 2019 rankings but now standing at sixth and fifth respectively. "Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) ranks #1 with 61 million seats and was the busiest global airport in 2022 and 2019," excerpts from the OAG's press release further state the dominance of U.S. airports in the global airspace, per The Dallas Express.
It's not just the airports themselves commanding attention; specific routes are turning heads too. The JFK to London Heathrow route has managed to notably increase capacity above the 2019 levels, being the only international route to make it into OAG's Top 10 Busiest Global International Airline Routes list this year. This trend implies a demand to always connect more—to not just maintain but expand ties across the pond.
