Busiest US Airports by Takeoffs and Landings

Which US airports are the busiest?

Rankings are typically based on passenger volume, the millions of people passing through each year. This chart measures something different: aircraft operations (also called aircraft movements), meaning total takeoffs and landings by all aircraft types—commercial, cargo, charter, general aviation, and military.

While Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson still leads in passenger volume, Chicago O'Hare is now the busiest US airport by operations, recording 857,392 in 2025—roughly one takeoff or landing every 37 seconds. (Atlanta had held the #1 spot since 2020.)

O'Hare's dominance comes down to a few key factors:

• It serves as a dual hub for both United and American Airlines, driving intense competition and high flight frequency
• Its central, midwest location makes it a natural connecting point for coast-to-coast and international travel
• It handles an outsized share of short-haul regional flights, which generate more operations per passenger than long-haul routes
• O’Hare has 8 runways, the most of any US airport—or the world—allowing it to handle multiple and simultaneous arrivals and departures, producing the most active airspace in the country.