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 St Louis Lambert 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 St Louis Lambert International travelers.
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1 / 20#20. Philadelphia International (Philadelphia, PA)
- Passengers: 124,734 (1.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 70,734
--- #2. American Airlines: 44,160
--- #3. Republic Airline: 5,722
Brian Wilson Photography // Shutterstock
2 / 20#19. Nashville International (Nashville, TN)
- Passengers: 127,219 (1.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 126,901
--- #2. Swift Air, LLC d/b/a Eastern Air Lines d/b/a Eastern: 252
AevanStock // Shutterstock
3 / 20#18. Tampa International (Tampa, FL)
- Passengers: 136,395 (2.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 127,888
--- #2. Frontier Airlines: 8,443
f11photo // Shutterstock
4 / 20#17. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (Baltimore, MD)
- Passengers: 140,792 (2.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 140,727
lunamarina // Shutterstock
5 / 20#16. Logan International (Boston, MA)
#15. William P Hobby (Houston, TX)
- Passengers: 163,797 (2.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 163,746
Vladimir Mucibabic // Shutterstock
7 / 20#14. Detroit Metro Wayne County (Detroit, MI)
- Passengers: 179,938 (2.6% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 106,295
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 65,543
--- #3. SkyWest Airlines: 7,936
ostreetphotography // Shutterstock
8 / 20#13. Minneapolis-St Paul International (Minneapolis, MN)
- Passengers: 198,513 (2.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 119,996
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 64,577
--- #3. Sun Country Airlines d/b/a MN Airlines: 6,033
marchello74 // Shutterstock
9 / 20#12. Chicago Midway International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 209,404 (3.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 209,296
--- #2. Swift Air, LLC d/b/a Eastern Air Lines d/b/a Eastern: 108
Orhan Cam // Shutterstock
10 / 20#11. Ronald Reagan Washington National (Washington, DC)
#10. Dallas Love Field (Dallas, TX)
- Passengers: 224,432 (3.2% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 223,932
--- #2. Allegiant Air: 309
--- #3. Sun Country Airlines d/b/a MN Airlines: 147
#9. Charlotte Douglas International (Charlotte, NC)
- Passengers: 232,247 (3.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 188,933
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 32,637
--- #3. PSA Airlines: 7,964
marchello74 // Shutterstock
13 / 20#8. Chicago O'Hare International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 241,587 (3.5% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. GoJet Airlines LLC d/b/a United Express: 66,760
--- #2. American Airlines: 54,512
--- #3. Envoy Air: 47,463
Nate Hovee // Shutterstock
14 / 20#7. Phoenix Sky Harbor International (Phoenix, AZ)
- Passengers: 244,897 (3.5% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 157,488
--- #2. American Airlines: 85,361
--- #3. SkyWest Airlines: 1,988
#6. Dallas/Fort Worth International (Dallas/Fort Worth, TX)
- Passengers: 246,921 (3.6% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 240,693
--- #2. Envoy Air: 4,833
--- #3. SkyWest Airlines: 1,111
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randy andy // Shutterstock
16 / 20#5. Harry Reid International (Las Vegas, NV)
- Passengers: 295,045 (4.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 197,415
--- #2. Frontier Airlines: 59,167
--- #3. Spirit Air Lines: 38,378
Thiago Leite // Shutterstock
17 / 20#4. LaGuardia (New York, NY)
- Passengers: 308,493 (4.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 158,999
--- #2. Endeavor Air: 58,004
--- #3. Republic Airline: 46,723
Songquan Deng // Shutterstock
18 / 20#3. Orlando International (Orlando, FL)
- Passengers: 335,300 (4.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 225,922
--- #2. Frontier Airlines: 58,736
--- #3. Spirit Air Lines: 50,582
#2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (Atlanta, GA)
- Passengers: 438,707 (6.3% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 317,450
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 119,148
--- #3. Frontier Airlines: 2,021
Andrew Zarivny // Shutterstock
20 / 20#1. Denver International (Denver, CO)
- Passengers: 480,271 (6.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 288,392
--- #2. United Air Lines: 84,874
--- #3. Frontier Airlines: 65,235
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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