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 Richmond 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 Richmond International travelers.
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TFoxFoto // Shutterstock
1 / 20#20. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (New Orleans, LA)
- Passengers: 20,140 (0.9% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Breeze Aviation Group DBA Breeze: 17,786
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 2,205
--- #3. Swift Air, LLC d/b/a Eastern Air Lines d/b/a Eastern: 149
AevanStock // Shutterstock
2 / 20#19. Tampa International (Tampa, FL)
- Passengers: 35,422 (1.5% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Breeze Aviation Group DBA Breeze: 35,251
--- #2. JetBlue Airways: 148
#18. George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (Houston, TX)
- Passengers: 40,969 (1.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 38,484
--- #2. Mesa Airlines: 2,388
randy andy // Shutterstock
4 / 20#17. Harry Reid International (Las Vegas, NV)
- Passengers: 41,890 (1.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Breeze Aviation Group DBA Breeze: 22,960
--- #2. Spirit Air Lines: 18,909
Andrew J Simcox // Shutterstock
5 / 20#16. Philadelphia International (Philadelphia, PA)
- Passengers: 46,317 (2.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Piedmont Airlines: 38,038
--- #2. Republic Airline: 2,876
--- #3. Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp: 2,702
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6 / 20#15. Miami International (Miami, FL)
- Passengers: 55,275 (2.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 55,275
Orhan Cam // Shutterstock
7 / 20#14. Washington Dulles International (Washington, DC)
- Passengers: 56,042 (2.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. GoJet Airlines LLC d/b/a United Express: 32,117
--- #2. CommuteAir LLC dba CommuteAir: 17,756
--- #3. Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp: 3,579
Thiago Leite // Shutterstock
8 / 20#13. John F. Kennedy International (New York, NY)
- Passengers: 65,101 (2.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Endeavor Air: 55,482
--- #2. Republic Airline: 8,352
--- #3. JetBlue Airways: 1,262
marchello74 // Shutterstock
9 / 20#12. Chicago Midway International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 65,426 (2.8% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Southwest Airlines: 65,426
Vladimir Mucibabic // Shutterstock
10 / 20#11. Detroit Metro Wayne County (Detroit, MI)
#10. Newark Liberty International (Newark, NJ)
- Passengers: 73,904 (3.2% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. GoJet Airlines LLC d/b/a United Express: 58,394
--- #2. Republic Airline: 15,102
--- #3. JetBlue Airways: 298
Andrew Zarivny // Shutterstock
12 / 20#9. Denver International (Denver, CO)
- Passengers: 92,685 (4.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 84,201
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 4,616
--- #3. SkyWest Airlines: 3,868
mariakray // Shutterstock
13 / 20#8. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
- Passengers: 101,554 (4.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Spirit Air Lines: 57,284
--- #2. JetBlue Airways: 44,123
--- #3. Southwest Airlines: 147
Songquan Deng // Shutterstock
14 / 20#7. Orlando International (Orlando, FL)
- Passengers: 106,704 (4.6% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. JetBlue Airways: 55,374
--- #2. Spirit Air Lines: 51,104
--- #3. Southwest Airlines: 226
Thiago Leite // Shutterstock
15 / 20#6. LaGuardia (New York, NY)
marchello74 // Shutterstock
16 / 20#5. Chicago O'Hare International (Chicago, IL)
- Passengers: 121,483 (5.2% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. United Air Lines: 44,324
--- #2. GoJet Airlines LLC d/b/a United Express: 25,423
--- #3. Republic Airline: 17,515
lunamarina // Shutterstock
17 / 20#4. Logan International (Boston, MA)
- Passengers: 125,180 (5.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. JetBlue Airways: 81,504
--- #2. Republic Airline: 42,731
--- #3. Endeavor Air: 945
#3. Dallas/Fort Worth International (Dallas/Fort Worth, TX)
- Passengers: 126,657 (5.4% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 126,657
#2. Charlotte Douglas International (Charlotte, NC)
- Passengers: 318,538 (13.7% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. American Airlines: 311,129
--- #2. PSA Airlines: 6,740
--- #3. Republic Airline: 388
#1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (Atlanta, GA)
- Passengers: 510,277 (22.0% of all passengers)
- Top carriers:
--- #1. Delta Air Lines: 403,802
--- #2. Southwest Airlines: 106,417
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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