North American Airports Report Significant Passenger Growth in 2015

July 26, 2016

Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) on July 26, released the 2015 North American Airport Traffic Summary, containing passenger, cargo and aircraft operations data from its 223 North American airport members. In 2015, passenger traffic grew 5.4 percent and cargo traffic increased 4 percent.

“The continued success of North American airports reinforces their role as strong contributors to their local communities as well as the global economy,” said ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. “Because all of North America’s top 50 airports reported traffic increases in 2015, this year’s report highlights many of the continuing capacity challenges faced by North American airports. It’s important we continue our work to modernize airport infrastructure to meet growing demands.”

Key Findings

  • Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport remained the world’s busiest airport with more than 101 million passengers, a 5.4 percent increase from 2014.
  • Toronto Pearson International Airport is once again Canada’s busiest airport with 41 million passengers, an increase of 6.4 percent from 2014.
  • Memphis International Airport continues to be the busiest cargo airport in North America, handling nearly 4.3 million metric tons.
  • The 2015 passenger data reported in this year’s North American Airport Traffic Summary exceeded the projections for passenger enplanements by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Based on information submitted to ACI-NA, the 2015 North American Airport Traffic Summary contains passenger, freight/mail and aircraft operations data for 223 North American airport members. Total passengers represent the sum of passengers enplaned and deplaned in all commercial services but not passengers who travel in business or general aviation modes of transportation. Total freight/mail figures represent the sum of the total freight and mail—both loaded and unloaded—at the reporting airport. Total aircraft operations reflect the sum total of all domestic commercial, international commercial, commuter, general aviation and military operations. A summary of the data for top 50 North American airports is available on ACI-NA's website.