Mayor Kasim Reed announced this week that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) has retained its claim to being the World’s Busiest Airport for 2014.
For the 17th consecutive year, ATL has had the most passengers. The airport reached 96.1 million in 2014, up 1.7 million passengers, or 1.9 percent, from 2013, according to the airport.
“And not only are we the busiest, Atlanta’s airport has been recognized as the world’s most efficient airport for more than 11 years,” Reed says. “The airport also contributes more than $34 billion in direct business revenue to our local economy and employs more than 63,000 people.”
Earlier this year, Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) claimed to have retaken the “busiest airport” mantle from ATL. ORD officials, according to media reports, staked their claim based on the official count of flights as measured by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Traffic at ORD was down 0.2 percent in 2014, to 881,933 arrivals and departures. But a greater decrease of 4.7 percent in arrivals and departures at ATL reduced its count to 868,359, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“It speaks to the strength of our city’s economy – the No. 1 city in America for corporate relocations, the top metro area for foreign direct investment, and record growth in international tourism,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel at the time.
