Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has passed Chicago’s O’Hare to become the world’s busiest airport, says the Federal Aviation Administration.

For years, Atlanta has led O’Hare in the number of departing passengers. But O’Hare in the past has had more flight operations.

A possible explanation of why Atlanta now has more takeoff and departures is greater traffic by Delta Air Lines, says the Associated Press.

Delta has its hub in Atlanta. After filing for bankruptcy last year, Delta closed its Dallas hub and shifted more flights to Atlanta.

Voluntary flight caps have also been placed at crowded O’Hare.

Atlanta last year had 980,197 takeoffs and landings. An estimated 88.4 million passengers passed through the facility.

Chicago’s second place airport had 972,246 takeoffs and landings, according to wire service reports.

Congestion at Atlanta will be eased somewhat when a new 9,000-foot runway is open next May. The $1.3 billion new runway has been in the planning stages for 21 years.

In at least one area, however, Chicago remains superior. Its on-time performance record was 76% compared to 72% for Atlanta.

Report by David Wilkening

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