Jackson Gap and 75th Ave. Detours
Starting Sept. 22, the existing off-ramp from inbound Peña to Jackson Gap will be closed for construction. While a temporary off-ramp is available, construction activity in the area will cause travel impacts. Also, westbound traffic on 75th from Jackson Gap is prohibited. Detour routes will be in place and signs will be posted.
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News and Press
Represents the airport’s highest ever global ranking
DENVER – April 11, 2022 – Today, Airports Council International (ACI) released preliminary rankings for the busiest airports in 2021. Based on total passenger traffic, Denver International Airport (DEN) ranked as the 3rdbusiest airport in the U.S. and the 3rd-busiest airport in the world for the year. This represents the highest ever global ranking for DEN.
10 Busiest Airports Worldwide, 2021
| 2021 Rank | Airport | 2021 Passengers | % Change vs. 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta (ATL) | 75,704,760 | -32% |
| 2 | Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) | 62,465,756 | -17% |
| 3 | DENVER (DEN) | 58,828,552 | -15% |
| 4 | Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) | 54,020,399 | -36% |
| 5 | Los Angeles (LAX) | 48,007,284 | -46% |
| 6 | Charlotte (CLT) | 43,302,230 | -13% |
| 7 | Orlando (MCO) | 40,351,068 | -20% |
| 8 | Guangzhou (CAN) | 40,259,401 | -45% |
| 9 | Chengdu (CTU) | 40,117,496 | -28% |
| 10 | Las Vegas (LAS) | 39,754,366 | -23% |
Of the world’s 10 busiest airports in 2021, eight were in the U.S. and two were in China. Denver was one of only four airports worldwide to serve more than 50 million passengers in 2021. Denver’s top ranking can be attributed to the strong demand for domestic travel during the pandemic and the Mile High City’s advantageous geographic position which supports connecting passenger traffic flows. In 2021 DEN ranked as the largest airport for flights for Frontier, Southwest and United. Additionally, DEN’s global ranking for total annual aircraft movements in 2021 was fourth, up from fifth in 2019. “Despite the challenges, DEN has shown resiliency through the pandemic and has proven why Denver is such an important hub for our airline partners,” said DEN CEO Phil Washington. “As we continue to recover from the pandemic, we remain committed to working collaboratively with our airlines to expand DEN’s air service network providing even more travel options to and from Denver.” DEN’s ranking among the world’s busiest airports has continued to improve in recent years. In 2017 and 2018, DEN ranked as the 19th-busiest airport in the world and moved up to the 16th position in 2019. DEN’s fifth-place U.S. ranking was consistent prior to the pandemic but in 2020 and 2021 DEN surpassed both ORD and LAX to rank third.
Recent Historical DEN Worldwide Passenger Traffic Rankings
| Year | U.S. Ranking | Worldwide Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 5 | 19 |
| 2018 | 5 | 19 |
| 2019 | 5 | 16 |
| 2020 | 3 | 8 |
| 2021 | 3 | 3 |
DEN’s passenger traffic in 2022 is trending in a positive direction. Although January 2022 saw a decline of 13% vs. January 2019 due to the impacts of the omicron variant, February 2022 was the first month since the start of the pandemic DEN recorded a monthly increase vs. 2019. In February 2022, DEN served 4,593,960 passengers, a 0.1% increase over the 4,588,397 passengers served in February 2019. In addition, it is notable that February 2022 recorded more passengers than January 2022, despite having three fewer days. Through the first two months of 2022 DEN’s passenger traffic is 7% below the same period in 2019.
Denver International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. DEN is the primary economic engine for the state of Colorado, generating more than $36 billion for the region annually. For more information visit www.FlyDenver.com, check us out on YouTube and Instagram, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Sign up for DEN’s monthly newsletter Nonstop News.
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