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 Des Moines 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 Des Moines International travelers.
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#20. Austin - Bergstrom International (Austin, TX)
- Passengers: 16,435 (1.1% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Allegiant Air: 16,193
--- #2. Swift Air, LLC d/b/a Eastern Air Lines d/b/a Eastern: 171
#19. John Wayne Airport-Orange County (Santa Ana, CA)
- Passengers: 16,577 (1.1% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Allegiant Air: 16,464
#18. St Pete Clearwater International (St. Petersburg, FL)
- Passengers: 23,158 (1.6% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Allegiant Air: 23,158
Khairil Azhar Junos // Shutterstock
4 / 20#17. Punta Gorda Airport (Punta Gorda, FL)
- Passengers: 23,933 (1.6% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Allegiant Air: 23,933
Brittx // Shutterstock
5 / 20#16. Orlando Sanford International (Sanford, FL)
Nate Hovee // Shutterstock
6 / 20#15. Phoenix - Mesa Gateway (Phoenix, AZ)
- Passengers: 26,221 (1.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Allegiant Air: 26,221
Brian Wilson Photography // Shutterstock
7 / 20#14. Nashville International (Nashville, TN)
- Passengers: 26,245 (1.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Allegiant Air: 25,480
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 615
--- #3. American Airlines: 150
Thiago Leite // Shutterstock
8 / 20#13. LaGuardia (New York, NY)
- Passengers: 26,615 (1.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Endeavor Air: 21,930
--- #2. Republic Airline: 4,685
Orhan Cam // Shutterstock
9 / 20#12. Ronald Reagan Washington National (Washington, DC)
- Passengers: 47,389 (3.2% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. PSA Airlines: 31,139
--- #2. Republic Airline: 10,429
--- #3. Envoy Air: 5,597
randy andy // Shutterstock
10 / 20#11. Harry Reid International (Las Vegas, NV)
Vladimir Mucibabic // Shutterstock
11 / 20#10. Detroit Metro Wayne County (Detroit, MI)
- Passengers: 54,334 (3.7% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Endeavor Air: 54,316
#9. George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (Houston, TX)
- Passengers: 58,670 (4.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 26,095
--- #2. SkyWest Airlines: 20,175
--- #3. Mesa Airlines: 12,287
Joe Hendrickson // Shutterstock
13 / 20#8. St Louis Lambert International (St. Louis, MO)
- Passengers: 62,701 (4.2% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 62,701
ostreetphotography // Shutterstock
14 / 20#7. Minneapolis-St Paul International (Minneapolis, MN)
- Passengers: 65,525 (4.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Endeavor Air: 65,092
--- #2. Sun Country Airlines d/b/a MN Airlines: 178
--- #3. Allegiant Air: 156
#6. Charlotte Douglas International (Charlotte, NC)
Nate Hovee // Shutterstock
16 / 20#5. Phoenix Sky Harbor International (Phoenix, AZ)
- Passengers: 85,991 (5.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 85,852
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 139
#4. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (Atlanta, GA)
- Passengers: 103,839 (7.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 101,316
--- #2. Endeavor Air: 2,325
--- #3. Southwest Airlines: 198
#3. Dallas/Fort Worth International (Dallas/Fort Worth, TX)
- Passengers: 131,301 (8.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 121,628
--- #2. Envoy Air: 9,248
--- #3. Mesa Airlines: 425
marchello74 // Shutterstock
19 / 20#2. Chicago O'Hare International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 191,040 (12.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 98,017
--- #2. Envoy Air: 29,287
--- #3. SkyWest Airlines: 27,445
Andrew Zarivny // Shutterstock
20 / 20#1. Denver International (Denver, CO)
- Passengers: 257,104 (17.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 120,138
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 98,138
--- #3. SkyWest Airlines: 20,094
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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