Traffic at North America’s 10 largest airports came roaring back in 2022. With the domestic market returning to near normality and international travel building through the year, an additional 191 million passengers passed through the main hubs during the year.
In total, the airports handled a combined 627 million passengers, which was an increase of 30.5% year-on-year. Total throughput was down just 6.7% on 2019 levels, with domestic traffic down only 3.3%. International traffic was down 24%, although the relative recovery accelerated from early 2Q2022.
Three of the top 10 North American airports have already exceeded pre-pandemic passenger levels, and all bar a few of the largest US hubs anticipate full traffic recovery during 2023. Those airports not expecting a full recovery in 2023 have significant exposure to slower recovering intercontinental traffic, particularly the Asia Pacific region. Even in the Asia Pacific, most travel markets are predicted to be back at full strength by early 2024.