The number of air traffic passenger miles in America collapsed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the figure was about 306 billion. That was down from an average of 750 billion in the two previous years. Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation showed a strong rebound in December. Presumably, this continued into 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic nearly ruined the air travel industry. Airlines lost money without passengers. Airports suffered as well. U.S. airline net profits dropped $35 billion from 2019 to 2020. It took government money and huge debt loads to keep several carriers in the business.
Airports, both around the world and in the U.S. have wide variations in how passengers view them. Crowded, old airports like La Guardia have ranked poorly for years. New airports, like Denver’s, usually rate much better.
Money.co recently released a research study titled “World’s best airports”. It is based on a complex methodology. This includes the number of passengers, parking costs, drop-off costs, number of restaurants and shops, transfer times from flight to flight, and on-time performance of flights. The primary source of the data was the 2019 Annual Airport Traffic Report. That means that all of the information used was before the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Information from airline and airport websites was part of the analysis.
The world’s highest-rated airport was Singapore Changi Airport with a score of 8.32 out of 10. It was followed by Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, which had a score of 8.03.
The top American airport was No.4. in the world. This was Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Atlanta is also the world’s busiest airport with 110 million passengers in 2019. Before it was given its current name, it was known as the Candler Field/Atlanta Municipal Airport which first opened in 1925. Among the reasons it carries so many passengers is that it is the global hub of airline giant Delta. It received a score of 7.34.
Click here to see The World’s Best Airlines
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