CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO/AP) — O'Hare International Airport in Chicago was the busiest airport in the U.S. last year, surpassing Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for the first time in four years.
The Federal Aviation Administration released data on Monday showing that O'Hare had more than 903,000 arrivals and departures during 2018. Atlanta's airport was second, with more than 895,000 arrivals and departures.
Los Angeles International Airport, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Denver International Airport round out the top five.
O'Hare last held the top spot in 2014.
Last year, O'Hare operations increased 4.2 percent, compared with a 1.8 percent increase in Atlanta. United Airlines is the largest carrier at O'Hare and has been adding more flights from its hub at the Chicago airport to smaller cities throughout the Midwest.
The City of Chicago released 2018 year-end passenger and cargo data the showed a record 105 million passengers traveled to Chicago’s airports last year, and a record 1.87 metric tones of cargo flew through O’Hare.
The City is attributing the increase in passengers to new air services added in 2018. Overall, nearly 50 new routes were launched, including services to international destinations like as Bogota, New Zealand, and Ethiopia served from O’Hare.