Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has held the title of busiest passenger airport of the world since 1998
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport sees about 249,000 passengers a day and it served more than 107 million passengers last year. It is now the busiest airport in the world for 21 years in a row and it sees an average of 2,700 arrival and departure flights daily. This massive transportation hub spans over 4,700 acres and the plane train shuttles more than 200,000 passengers along a 3-mile loop that connects all of the airport’s concourses and terminals.
Moreover, it’s Georgia’s largest employer with more than 63,000 employees and it generates $34.8 billion each year for the city of Atlanta’s economy. Plus, the airport is always adding upgrades such as a redesigned international terminal and the first fully biometric security line. ACI World Director General Angela Gittens stated in a news release:
“It is heartening to see that global passenger traffic growth has remained resilient in the face of an increasingly tense and challenging geopolitical climate. With the cost of travel decreasing in many markets, and a burgeoning middle class growing in emerging markets, passenger traffic growth has remained irrepressible. […] Aviation is strongly linked to the global economy and to local development, however, and the protectionist rhetoric that has swept several Western countries will continue to restrain growth in the efficient flow of people, goods and services. The ongoing trade war between the United States and several of its closest trade partners was a shock for the industry and global supply chains.”
Atlanta is a major connecting hub and port of entry into North America that is why it was able to dominate the passenger market for as long as it did. Plus, it is located within a two-hour flight of 80% of the United States major cities with a population of more than 300 million people. However, it is not certain yet if things will remain the same because the Georgia State senate recently voted to take control of the airport from the city, after which the CEO of Delta Air Lines – the dominant tenant at the Atlanta airport – has expressed opposition to this.
Source: cnn.com
