Denver International Airport (DIA) was recently ranked as the sixth-busiest airport in the world and the third-busiest in the United States for passenger traffic in 2023 by Airports Council International. The airport served a total of 77.8 million passengers, marking a 12.3% increase from the previous year and the first time it has surpassed 70 million passengers in a single year. Prior to the pandemic, DIA’s best year for traffic was in 2019 when it was ranked as the 16th-busiest airport in the world.
In the aftermath of COVID-19, DIA experienced a swift recovery, becoming one of the fastest-recovering airports globally. However, despite its impressive performance, it fell three spots in worldwide rankings due to intense competition from other airports like Dubai, London, Tokyo, and Dallas. Atlanta claimed the top spot for passenger traffic worldwide in 2023.
Despite falling three spots in worldwide rankings, DIA still holds its position as one of America’s busiest airports with an estimated annual growth potential of over 100 million passengers by 2030. To accommodate this growth and ensure that travelers have a seamless experience at DIA, they have implemented a strategic plan called “Vision 100”. Already by 2024, they have introduced new improvements such as an upgraded security checkpoint with additional lanes (a total of now 17) and welcomed new airline Breeze Airways which announced nonstop flights to Rhode Island. Additionally, Turkish Airlines started operating new nonstop flights from Denver to Istanbul.
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