TEXAS — Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in 2021 ranked second busiest airport in the nation, according to a report by the Airports Council International.

There was an estimated 4.5 billion passengers worldwide in 2021. This is a 25% increase from 2020 and a 50% drop from passengers in 2019.

“The ACI World passenger traffic rankings tell the story of an encouraging trend of recovery, with most of the recurrent busiest airports pre-COVID-19 back at the top,” ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said. “Although we are cautious that recovery could face multiple headwinds, the momentum created by reopening plans by countries could lead to an uptick in travel in the second half of 2022.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is ranked the busiest airport in passenger traffic with 76 million passengers last year. DFW airport followed behind in a second place, with 62 million passengers in 2021. Denver International Airport came in a close third, with 58 million passengers passing through the airport.

DFW airport, which was ranked tenth busiest airport by passenger traffic in 2019 jumped to fourth place in 2020 and increased to rank No. 2 it is today. The report says domestic travel is driving a global recovery from the pandemic, as eight of the top 10 busiest airports are located within the United States.

The other two on the list are the Guangzhou and Chengdu airport in China in eighth and ninth place.