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 Sacramento 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 Sacramento International travelers.
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#20. Austin - Bergstrom International (Austin, TX)
- Passengers: 78,646 (1.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 60,172
--- #2. Spirit Air Lines: 9,896
--- #3. Envoy Air: 8,571
marchello74 // Shutterstock
2 / 20#19. Chicago Midway International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 82,858 (1.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 82,808
#18. Kahului Airport (Kahului, HI)
- Passengers: 84,087 (1.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Hawaiian Airlines: 55,675
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 28,412
Charles Knowles // Shutterstock
4 / 20#17. Boise Air Terminal (Boise, ID)
- Passengers: 103,967 (1.7% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 83,352
--- #2. SkyWest Airlines: 12,442
--- #3. Horizon Air: 8,047
Leigh Trail // Shutterstock
5 / 20#16. Daniel K Inouye International (Honolulu, HI)
#15. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (Atlanta, GA)
- Passengers: 154,714 (2.5% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 154,199
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 403
--- #3. United Air Lines: 112
marchello74 // Shutterstock
7 / 20#14. Chicago O'Hare International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 164,263 (2.7% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 120,021
--- #2. American Airlines: 44,142
#13. Long Beach Airport (Long Beach, CA)
- Passengers: 181,126 (3.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 181,126
#12. Ontario International (Ontario, CA)
- Passengers: 196,341 (3.2% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 196,326
#11. Salt Lake City International (Salt Lake City, UT)
Nadia Yong // Shutterstock
11 / 20#10. Portland International (Portland, OR)
- Passengers: 216,953 (3.5% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 148,394
--- #2. Horizon Air: 36,009
--- #3. Alaska Airlines: 21,101
#9. Bob Hope (Burbank, CA)
- Passengers: 257,526 (4.2% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 257,526
#8. Dallas/Fort Worth International (Dallas/Fort Worth, TX)
- Passengers: 261,039 (4.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 261,039
#7. John Wayne Airport-Orange County (Santa Ana, CA)
- Passengers: 271,319 (4.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 271,319
Strike First // Shutterstock
15 / 20#6. Los Angeles International (Los Angeles, CA)
- Passengers: 365,742 (6.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 198,951
--- #2. SkyWest Airlines: 149,252
--- #3. Delta Air Lines: 17,250
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Nate Hovee // Shutterstock
16 / 20#5. Phoenix Sky Harbor International (Phoenix, AZ)
- Passengers: 383,278 (6.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 240,425
--- #2. American Airlines: 118,612
--- #3. SkyWest Airlines: 13,400
kan_khampanya // Shutterstock
17 / 20#4. Seattle/Tacoma International (Seattle, WA)
- Passengers: 436,910 (7.1% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Alaska Airlines: 159,079
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 141,252
--- #3. SkyWest Airlines: 67,527
Andrew Zarivny // Shutterstock
18 / 20#3. Denver International (Denver, CO)
- Passengers: 507,940 (8.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 240,349
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 235,139
--- #3. Frontier Airlines: 32,054
Dancestrokes // Shutterstock
19 / 20#2. San Diego International (San Diego, CA)
- Passengers: 612,004 (10.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 526,213
--- #2. SkyWest Airlines: 85,720
randy andy // Shutterstock
20 / 20#1. Harry Reid International (Las Vegas, NV)
- Passengers: 653,079 (10.7% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 449,099
--- #2. Spirit Air Lines: 186,708
--- #3. Frontier Airlines: 17,052
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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