Atlanta airport retains title of busiest in the US
For the third year in a row, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport remains the busiest in the US in terms of flights, according to preliminary government data.
The Atlanta airport logged 994,466 flights in 2007, up 1.8% from 976,447 flights in 2006, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. Flights include takeoffs and landings.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport was listed second busiest, with 935,000 flights in 2007. That number was down 2.4% from the 958,643 flights it had in 2006, the FAA said.
Atlanta and Chicago have run neck-and-neck in recent years to claim the title of the nation’s — and therefore, the world’s — busiest airport.
Atlanta airport officials said Hartsfield-Jackson’s increased flights in 2007 came from growing demand for air travel in the metro Atlanta area and efforts to increase flights by Delta Air Lines Inc. and AirTran Airways, which both have large air travel hubs at Hartsfield-Jackson, said airport spokesman Herschel Grangent.
In recent years, O’Hare has faced limited flight capacity because of federally-mandated flight restrictions. But a new north runway and runway extension expected to open in November — when the federal restrictions will be lifted — will add to the airport’s ability to handle new flights, said spokesman Gregg Cunningham.
Delta, which represented more than two-thirds of the total scheduled passenger flight volume at Hartsfield-Jackson in 2007, plans for more growth at the Atlanta airport this year with new international routes, said spokeswoman Chris Kelly in a statement.
“What makes Atlanta work is … you have the world’s largest hub in Delta’s Atlanta hub. AirTran operates the world’s largest low-cost carrier hub,” said Ted Hutcheson, a spokesman for AirTran. “That’s what makes Atlanta the world’s busiest airport.”
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was ranked third.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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