Air travel looks very different now than it did just a few years ago when the coronavirus pandemic grounded folks around the world, putting a halt to travel for both leisure and business.
In 2020, passenger traffic on U.S. airlines was at its lowest since the mid-1980s, with just 369 million passengers. In 2021, the U.S. started to get back to more normal air travel levels, and by 2022, the country was up to 853 million airline passengers. By the looks of it, 2023 is likely to outpace those numbers and return to pre-pandemic levels—nearly 3 million people flew in and out of U.S. airports daily as of April 2023, according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration's Air Traffic Organization.
When you're at the airport, shuffling around with your roller bag, backpack, neck pillow, and water bottle among the thousands of other passengers doing the same, you're probably not too concerned with more than your flight. Is it on time? Who will be sitting next to you? Did your checked bag make it onto the plane?
But when you're not in flight mode, you may be wondering where all of the other folks at your local airport are traveling to. To answer that question, Stacker compiled a list of the most common domestic flights from Phoenix Sky Harbor International using data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Destinations are ranked by total passengers from October 2022 to September 2023.
Read on to find out if your flight patterns are similar to your fellow Phoenix Sky Harbor International travelers.
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1 / 20#20. John F. Kennedy International (New York, NY)
- Passengers: 389,311 (1.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 173,368
--- #2. Delta Air Lines: 128,580
--- #3. JetBlue Airways: 87,363
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2 / 20#19. Detroit Metro Wayne County (Detroit, MI)
- Passengers: 394,295 (1.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 228,775
--- #2. American Airlines: 84,696
--- #3. Frontier Airlines: 47,324
#18. Sacramento International (Sacramento, CA)
- Passengers: 395,149 (1.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 247,719
--- #2. American Airlines: 123,266
--- #3. SkyWest Airlines: 13,604
#17. Newark Liberty International (Newark, NJ)
- Passengers: 396,627 (1.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 214,144
--- #2. American Airlines: 173,888
--- #3. Spirit Air Lines: 8,431
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5 / 20#16. Philadelphia International (Philadelphia, PA)
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6 / 20#15. Chicago Midway International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 427,055 (1.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 360,594
--- #2. Frontier Airlines: 66,279
--- #3. Delta Air Lines: 135
#14. Charlotte Douglas International (Charlotte, NC)
- Passengers: 427,961 (1.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 426,585
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 1,247
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8 / 20#13. Portland International (Portland, OR)
- Passengers: 449,894 (2.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 148,464
--- #2. Alaska Airlines: 133,462
--- #3. American Airlines: 127,789
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9 / 20#12. San Francisco International (San Francisco, CA)
- Passengers: 546,104 (2.5% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 169,754
--- #2. United Air Lines: 140,655
--- #3. Southwest Airlines: 137,251
#11. John Wayne Airport-Orange County (Santa Ana, CA)
#10. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (Atlanta, GA)
- Passengers: 586,548 (2.7% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 376,493
--- #2. American Airlines: 100,170
--- #3. Southwest Airlines: 65,161
#9. Salt Lake City International (Salt Lake City, UT)
- Passengers: 625,826 (2.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 262,326
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 188,943
--- #3. American Airlines: 95,414
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13 / 20#8. San Diego International (San Diego, CA)
- Passengers: 636,710 (2.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 357,138
--- #2. American Airlines: 217,467
--- #3. Frontier Airlines: 55,646
ostreetphotography // Shutterstock
14 / 20#7. Minneapolis-St Paul International (Minneapolis, MN)
- Passengers: 651,791 (2.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 368,530
--- #2. Sun Country Airlines d/b/a MN Airlines: 112,088
--- #3. American Airlines: 82,063
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15 / 20#6. Los Angeles International (Los Angeles, CA)
#5. Dallas/Fort Worth International (Dallas/Fort Worth, TX)
- Passengers: 732,374 (3.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 611,899
--- #2. Frontier Airlines: 61,407
--- #3. Spirit Air Lines: 58,865
marchello74 // Shutterstock
17 / 20#4. Chicago O'Hare International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 840,950 (3.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 406,182
--- #2. United Air Lines: 262,170
--- #3. Southwest Airlines: 138,110
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18 / 20#3. Harry Reid International (Las Vegas, NV)
- Passengers: 876,589 (4.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 430,173
--- #2. American Airlines: 228,943
--- #3. Frontier Airlines: 106,225
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19 / 20#2. Seattle/Tacoma International (Seattle, WA)
- Passengers: 938,653 (4.2% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Alaska Airlines: 440,343
--- #2. Delta Air Lines: 220,964
--- #3. American Airlines: 129,679
Andrew Zarivny // Shutterstock
20 / 20#1. Denver International (Denver, CO)
- Passengers: 1,172,023 (5.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 521,381
--- #2. United Air Lines: 300,381
--- #3. Frontier Airlines: 191,943
This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jaimie Etkin, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 199 metros.
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