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 Tampa 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 Tampa International travelers.
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#20. George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (Houston, TX)
- Passengers: 180,828 (1.7% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 156,382
--- #2. Spirit Air Lines: 23,040
--- #3. Southwest Airlines: 1,406
mariakray // Shutterstock
2 / 20#19. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
- Passengers: 181,260 (1.7% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Spirit Air Lines: 101,712
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 61,594
--- #3. Silver Airways: 14,992
Brian Wilson Photography // Shutterstock
3 / 20#18. Nashville International (Nashville, TN)
- Passengers: 220,741 (2.1% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 178,761
--- #2. Envoy Air: 41,692
--- #3. Sun Country Airlines d/b/a MN Airlines: 168
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
4 / 20#17. Miami International (Miami, FL)
- Passengers: 232,335 (2.2% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 211,567
--- #2. Envoy Air: 18,462
--- #3. Republic Airline: 1,697
Orhan Cam // Shutterstock
5 / 20#16. Ronald Reagan Washington National (Washington, DC)
#15. Luis Munoz Marin International (San Juan, PR)
- Passengers: 243,399 (2.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. JetBlue Airways: 71,297
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 65,239
--- #3. Spirit Air Lines: 55,411
ostreetphotography // Shutterstock
7 / 20#14. Minneapolis-St Paul International (Minneapolis, MN)
- Passengers: 262,146 (2.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 190,252
--- #2. Sun Country Airlines d/b/a MN Airlines: 70,539
--- #3. Southwest Airlines: 1,306
marchello74 // Shutterstock
8 / 20#13. Chicago Midway International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 266,605 (2.5% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 208,568
--- #2. Frontier Airlines: 57,986
Thiago Leite // Shutterstock
9 / 20#12. John F. Kennedy International (New York, NY)
- Passengers: 329,744 (3.1% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. JetBlue Airways: 167,607
--- #2. Delta Air Lines: 162,137
Andrew J Simcox // Shutterstock
10 / 20#11. Philadelphia International (Philadelphia, PA)
- Passengers: 342,313 (3.2% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 209,819
--- #2. Frontier Airlines: 117,088
--- #3. Southwest Airlines: 14,832
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Vladimir Mucibabic // Shutterstock
11 / 20#10. Detroit Metro Wayne County (Detroit, MI)
- Passengers: 354,433 (3.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 239,704
--- #2. Spirit Air Lines: 96,353
--- #3. Frontier Airlines: 17,226
f11photo // Shutterstock
12 / 20#9. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (Baltimore, MD)
- Passengers: 354,614 (3.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 307,473
--- #2. Spirit Air Lines: 46,385
--- #3. Frontier Airlines: 402
Thiago Leite // Shutterstock
13 / 20#8. LaGuardia (New York, NY)
- Passengers: 365,196 (3.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 175,888
--- #2. JetBlue Airways: 133,360
--- #3. Southwest Airlines: 55,928
lunamarina // Shutterstock
14 / 20#7. Logan International (Boston, MA)
- Passengers: 376,672 (3.5% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. JetBlue Airways: 217,830
--- #2. Delta Air Lines: 120,966
--- #3. Spirit Air Lines: 37,005
#6. Dallas/Fort Worth International (Dallas/Fort Worth, TX)
marchello74 // Shutterstock
16 / 20#5. Chicago O'Hare International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 416,330 (3.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 174,659
--- #2. American Airlines: 131,655
--- #3. Spirit Air Lines: 61,476
#4. Newark Liberty International (Newark, NJ)
- Passengers: 433,909 (4.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 370,316
--- #2. JetBlue Airways: 63,163
--- #3. Delta Air Lines: 322
Andrew Zarivny // Shutterstock
18 / 20#3. Denver International (Denver, CO)
- Passengers: 456,929 (4.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 176,337
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 163,636
--- #3. Frontier Airlines: 116,954
#2. Charlotte Douglas International (Charlotte, NC)
- Passengers: 474,693 (4.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 474,328
--- #2. Delta Air Lines: 318
#1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (Atlanta, GA)
- Passengers: 1,026,541 (9.6% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 736,233
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 153,228
--- #3. Spirit Air Lines: 78,211
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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