ATLANTA — Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport will likely reign as the busiest once again after seeing nearly 94 million passengers last year.
Airport leaders released its 2022 traveler data Monday, saying the airport saw an increase in travelers, concessions revenue, and construction activity. With the airport growing larger and seeing more people, it's expected to keep its moniker as the world's busiest airport.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens described the airport as the city's "crown jewel and the economic engine for the Southeast," according to a news release.
"As the busiest airport in the world, Hartsfield-Jackson connects our residents to the world, and brings a world of opportunities to our doorstep," he said in a prepared statement.
Not quite beating 2019's record-setting numbers, Atlanta's airport hosted 93.6 million passengers last year, a sign that travel is edging closer to pre-pandemic numbers.
Airport leaders noted in a news release that international air service also expanded at Hartsfield-Jackson, with five new destinations to Central and South America. Such travel also increased to Africa, the Caribbean, Canada and Europe, which likely attracted new travelers to the world's busiest airport.
Numbers show passengers shopped and dined at airport gates, too.
Food, beverage, retail and service gross revenues were more than $585 million, according to a new release. Rental car operators at the airport said they also saw half a billion in gross sales for 2022.
Rideshare drivers also made plenty of trips to the airport, a news release reads, with nearly 2.5 million tracked pickups at Hartsfield-Jackson International last year. There were 395,985 taxi pick-ups over the same period.
As more people seem to be walking through Atlanta's biggest airport, officials are working on expanding Concourse D and its parking decks -- two projects expected to wrap up by the end of the decade, they said.
