Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport handled a record number of international passengers in 2024 as it remained the world’s busiest airport and continued its march back toward pre-pandemic traffic levels.
Overall, a total of 108.1 million travelers made 2024 the second-best year for the airport behind its own 2019 record of 110 million, a peak the airport sees itself surpassing soon, as officials prepare for 125 million travelers within the next five years.
International traffic hit 14.6 million in 2024, up 14 percent from 12.8 million in the prior year as Delta Air Lines Inc. saw robust global demand from its hometown hub and foreign and budget carriers opened new cross-border routes to the city.
“Surpassing 108 million passengers in 2024 is a testament to Hartsfield-Jackson’s unmatched connectivity, operational excellence, and our relentless commitment to the traveler experience,” said Airport Interim General Manager Jan Lennon said in a news release that came just after the City of Atlanta, which oversees the airport, announced the selection of former Maryland Aviation Administration CEO Ricky Smith as ATL’s new general manager, starting in April.
That international traffic outpaced the overall growth rate of 3.3 percent suggested that the global market has a greater role to play in the airport’s growth, especially in the run-up to Atlanta’s hosting of eight soccer matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Relevant to last year’s numbers, Delta restored a route to Curacao in late 2023 and did the same with Barbados and the Mexican port city of Manzanillo in 2024, along with deepening its Aeromexico partnership to provide better access to five Mexican cities. Zurich was another restart from Delta, opening up Swiss tourism to the Southeast U.S.
Ethiopian Airlines celebrated its one-year anniversary of its nonstop to Addis Ababa in May 2024, while, Canada’s WestJet also started its fourth Atlanta route, this time to Calgary, Alberta.
Importantly for the Atlanta business community, SAS Scandinavian Airlines added a new gateway to the European market, launching a flight to Copenhagen in June 2024 ahead of the airline’s integration into the Delta-led SkyTeam alliance.
On tap for 2025 from Delta are new flights to Naples, Italy and Brussels this May, along with a thrice-weekly to Marrakech, Morocco, and seasonal daily service to Accra, Ghana, both launching later this year.
Etihad Airways will start flights to Abu Dhabi in July and has already said it would go daily in November thanks to strong demand.
Previously, ATL had never even hit the 13 million mark, the target cited when the airport inaugurated the Maynard H. Jackson jr. International Terminal, or Concourse F, back in 2012.
International cargo, meanwhile, was up 7 percent to 354,974 metric tons.
Another highlight: Takeoffs and landings were up 2.6 percent to 796,224 in 2024, also down 904,301 from 2019.
Despite mega airports built with great projections and fanfare around the world, Hartsfield-Jackson remains the only hub in the world to ever cross the 100 million passenger threshold, while also retaining its title as the world’s most efficient gateway.
Powered by LiveChatAI
The Pendleton Group is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Economic Development Channel. Subscribe here for monthly Economic Development newsletters.