For the first time in years, the crown for America's busiest airport has shifted away from Atlanta and landed in Chicago. Preliminary Federal Aviation Administration data for 2025 show Chicago O'Hare International Airport handled 857,392 takeoffs and landings, comfortably ahead of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International's 807,625, per USA Today. Atlanta has long ranked as the world's busiest airport, but the new operations tally puts O'Hare back on top in the US for the first time since 2019. O'Hare serves as a major hub for both American and United airlines, while Atlanta anchors Delta's network.
City leaders in Chicago are treating the numbers as a broader signal. "This is more than a statistic, it's a statement about Chicago's momentum," Mayor Brandon Johnson says in a release, noting that activity at O'Hare reflects economic energy across the city. Kristen Reynolds, who heads the Choose Chicago tourism agency, called the Windy City's airports "our front door" and a key first impression for millions of visitors.
Chicago's overall aviation footprint is larger still when Midway International is factored in. The FAA data show 210,930 takeoffs and landings there in 2025. And O'Hare is poised to grow further: A new 19-gate Concourse D, part of a $1.3 billion expansion and upgrade, is slated for completion at the end of 2028, which would likely push traffic even higher in the years ahead. Atlanta, however, didn't walk away from the new stats completely empty-handed—the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the city claimed the most passengers in 2025, with 43,268, 702, nearly 10 million more than Chicago.
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