Qantas’ Texan hub, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), was the second busiest in the world by passenger volume in 2021, welcoming over 62.5 million passengers and moving up from fourth place last year. According to newly released figures, DFW was also the third busiest airport in terms of flights for the third consecutive year.
Dallas Fort Worth said the traffic increase highlighted the gateway’s collaboration with airline partners who continue to expand their routes and services at the Airport.
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As one of the only airports in the US to increase service and the number of destinations served over the past two years, DFW focuses on customer experience. Numerous advancements have been adopted to enhance the customer experience, such as ultraviolet-C lighting within ventilation systems to better clean circulated air, automated self-bag drops, smart restrooms and other innovative solutions.
“At DFW, we continue on a path forward that prioritises the customer’s journey, operational excellence, and a culture that welcomes all to North Texas. We look forward to working with all of our business partners to serve customers as the busy summer travel period approaches,” said Sean Donohue, CEO of DFW Airport.
The ACI report also recognised DFW as the world’s most connected airport for the second consecutive year by offering more convenient connection opportunities than any other hub airport in the world.
Last month, Qantas confirmed plans to add a second non-stop service between Australia and DFW, with direct flights from Melbourne set to launch in December 2022. Oneworld alliance partner Finnair, also commenced new four weekly services from Helsinki to DFW in late March.
ACI’s figures show the total global passenger traffic in 2021 was estimated to be close to 4.5 billion, up almost 25% on the year prior, but still 50% behind the results from 2019.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta InternationalAirport was the busiest airport in 2021, with 75.7 million passenger movements (still 31.5% down on 2019), while Dubai International Airport was the largest for International Passengers, recording 29.1 million, down a whopping 66.3% on two years ago.
The Top 10 Airports of 2021, based on international passenger traffic were:
- Dubai – 29.11 million
- Istanbul – 26.46 million
- Amsterdam – 25.48 million
- Frankfurt – 22.7 million
- Paris Charles de Gaulle – 22.62 million
- Doha – 17.7 million
- London Heathrow – 17.62 million
- Antalya – 17.15 million
- Madrid – 15.38 million
- Cancun – 13.26 million
Image credit: DFW