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 Louisville Muhammad Ali 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 Louisville Muhammad Ali International travelers.
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1 / 20#20. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
- Passengers: 37,485 (1.7% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Spirit Air Lines: 22,581
--- #2. Allegiant Air: 14,573
--- #3. Southwest Airlines: 331
Andrew J Simcox // Shutterstock
2 / 20#19. Philadelphia International (Philadelphia, PA)
- Passengers: 39,517 (1.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Republic Airline: 25,123
--- #2. Piedmont Airlines: 7,296
--- #3. PSA Airlines: 6,183
Strike First // Shutterstock
3 / 20#18. Los Angeles International (Los Angeles, CA)
- Passengers: 45,052 (2.1% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Spirit Air Lines: 44,258
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 231
--- #3. American Airlines: 192
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4 / 20#17. Miami International (Miami, FL)
- Passengers: 47,345 (2.2% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 40,391
--- #2. Envoy Air: 5,003
--- #3. Republic Airline: 1,259
ostreetphotography // Shutterstock
5 / 20#16. Minneapolis-St Paul International (Minneapolis, MN)
- Passengers: 52,495 (2.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. SkyWest Airlines: 43,592
--- #2. Sun Country Airlines d/b/a MN Airlines: 5,497
--- #3. Endeavor Air: 2,798
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6 / 20#15. Detroit Metro Wayne County (Detroit, MI)
- Passengers: 55,998 (2.6% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. SkyWest Airlines: 35,979
--- #2. Endeavor Air: 12,313
--- #3. Republic Airline: 7,599
Orhan Cam // Shutterstock
7 / 20#14. Ronald Reagan Washington National (Washington, DC)
- Passengers: 56,546 (2.6% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Republic Airline: 29,044
--- #2. PSA Airlines: 23,819
--- #3. Envoy Air: 2,906
#13. Newark Liberty International (Newark, NJ)
- Passengers: 57,898 (2.7% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Republic Airline: 56,052
--- #2. United Air Lines: 946
--- #3. GoJet Airlines LLC d/b/a United Express: 715
#12. George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (Houston, TX)
- Passengers: 62,372 (2.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Mesa Airlines: 41,435
--- #2. United Air Lines: 18,218
--- #3. SkyWest Airlines: 1,993
AevanStock // Shutterstock
10 / 20#11. Tampa International (Tampa, FL)
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11 / 20#10. Harry Reid International (Las Vegas, NV)
- Passengers: 67,741 (3.1% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Spirit Air Lines: 47,887
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 17,269
--- #3. Allegiant Air: 2,585
Thiago Leite // Shutterstock
12 / 20#9. LaGuardia (New York, NY)
- Passengers: 70,643 (3.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Republic Airline: 63,847
--- #2. SkyWest Airlines: 5,109
--- #3. Endeavor Air: 1,360
f11photo // Shutterstock
13 / 20#8. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (Baltimore, MD)
- Passengers: 83,515 (3.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 83,470
marchello74 // Shutterstock
14 / 20#7. Chicago Midway International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 105,512 (4.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 105,512
Songquan Deng // Shutterstock
15 / 20#6. Orlando International (Orlando, FL)
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16 / 20#5. Denver International (Denver, CO)
- Passengers: 128,114 (5.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 72,221
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 49,544
--- #3. SkyWest Airlines: 4,959
marchello74 // Shutterstock
17 / 20#4. Chicago O'Hare International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 130,885 (6.1% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Republic Airline: 49,350
--- #2. Envoy Air: 21,519
--- #3. SkyWest Airlines: 21,016
#3. Charlotte Douglas International (Charlotte, NC)
- Passengers: 150,831 (7.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 103,870
--- #2. PSA Airlines: 44,507
--- #3. Republic Airline: 2,454
#2. Dallas/Fort Worth International (Dallas/Fort Worth, TX)
- Passengers: 182,791 (8.5% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 110,065
--- #2. Envoy Air: 37,353
--- #3. Mesa Airlines: 32,708
#1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (Atlanta, GA)
- Passengers: 345,161 (16.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 290,129
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 54,395
--- #3. Endeavor Air: 294
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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