Did Chicago airport dethrone Atlanta as country's busiest? Not quite
- - Did Chicago airport dethrone Atlanta as country's busiest? Not quite
Irene Wright, USA TODAYJanuary 27, 2026 at 1:11 AM
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One airport fielded the most planes in the country last year — and it wasn't Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
A total of 857,392 aircraft flew in and out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in 2025, about 50,000 more than Atlanta, according to preliminary flight data from the Federal Aviation Administration.
It was the highest number of flights for any airport in the U.S., and Chicago officials were quick to dub the city "the beating heart of American aviation," following the published data.
"This is more than a statistic, it's a statement about Chicago's momentum," Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a Jan. 20 statement. "From the runways of O'Hare to the neighborhoods across our city, Chicago is building, growing and leading. We are open for business, open to the world, and once again setting the pace for the nation."
While the data shows Chicago has the busiest airfield, some were quick to deem Chicago the new busiest airport in the country.
But not so fast.
Chicago fields more regional flights, fewer military
The Atlanta and Chicago airports are both major hubs for airlines in the United States. Chicago operates as the hub for both American Airlines and United Airlines. Atlanta is the hub for Delta Airlines.
But, the types of flights that are landing at each airport differ.
Of the 857,392 flights that operated out of Chicago in 2025, nearly 80,000 of them were designated as "air taxi" flights, or small regional planes that bring a smaller number of passengers to and from regional airports. Atlanta had just 7,573 flights of these kind by comparison.
Atlanta had about 20,000 more air carrier flights, as well as more than six times the number of military flights compared to Chicago. Atlanta also had nearly double the number of flights in the "general aviation" category.
Atlanta has more passengers — by a lot
The regional flights, while numerous, carry significantly fewer passengers compared to the large, commercial operations.
Preliminary data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics for the year through October 2025 shows 89.5 million passengers traveled through the Atlanta airport, while only 66.8 million traveled through Chicago during the same time period. Final passenger counts for 2025, and global data, have yet to be published.
Atlanta was ranked first in the world for total passengers in 2024, according to the Airports Council International with 108 million passengers. Chicago was ranked eighth in the world in 2024.
Atlanta maintains 'global standard'
"Hartsfield-Jackson remains the world's busiest airport by total passenger traffic — the global standard used to measure 'busiest'," Ricky Smith, Hartsfield-Jackson's general manager, said in a statement.
Officials in Chicago said global data is expected early spring, which is likely to confirm their role as busiest airfield.
"Some recent comparisons are based on aircraft operations, meaning takeoffs and landings, which is a different metric and can be influenced y flight frequency and aircraft size," Smith said. "We respect what other major hubs are achieving, but when it comes to moving people at scale, ATL continues to lead the nation and the world, and we're focused on sustaining that performance every day."
Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chicago airport has country's busiest airfield, but maybe not airport
Source: “AOL Breaking”
