Two local airports improved in the national passenger traffic rankings from 2022 to 2023, while another slipped, new federal data shows.
Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport was the region’s busiest airport last year, ranking 22nd in the country. In 2022, it rose from 25th place, according to data from the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport fell from 23rd to 24th place, while Washington Dulles International Airport rose in the rankings from 28th to 26th.
According to the data:
• The BHI recorded a total of 12,849,626 new registrations last year, an increase of 15.2 percent compared to the previous year.
• At Reagan National, 12,365,011 boardings represented a 7 percent increase.
• At Dulles, the number of boardings increased by 17.6 percent to 12,073,231.
Of the nation’s 31 largest airports – those with more than 10 million arrivals and departures in 2023 – all saw year-over-year increases compared to 2022. Of the 64 airports considered large or medium-sized, only two (Southwest Florida International Airport and Kahului Airport in Hawaii) saw year-over-year declines.
In 2023, Los Angeles International Airport returned to its traditional fourth place following the COVID pandemic, displacing Chicago’s O’Hare International in passenger numbers. The top three spots (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Dallas-Fort Worth International and Denver International) remained unchanged from 2022 to 2023.
Among other Virginia airports, Richmond International ranked 63rd with 2,399,207 passengers (up 17.5%), Norfolk International ranked 65th with 2,307,887 passengers (up 11.8%), Roanoke/Blacksburg Regional ranked 159th with 345,526 passengers (up 4.3%), and Charlottesville/Albemarle ranked 170th with 308,461 passengers (+17.4%).
The rankings and total numbers of entry participants are provisional for 2023 and should be finalized in the coming weeks; the numbers for 2022 are final.
