Jan. 22--Atlanta's main airport has snatched back the title of nation's busiest airport from O'Hare International.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport -- the busiest U.S. airport from 2005 through 2013 -- lost the top spot to O'Hare in 2014.
But data released Thursday by the Federal Aviation Administration show that the total number of flights into and out of Hartsfield-Jackson grew by 1.6 percent to 882,497 flights in 2015 but fell by 0.8 percent to 875,136 flights at O'Hare.
Nationally, low fuel prices helped flight traffic increase by nearly 6 percent.
O'Hare -- the nation's busiest airport for decades until the mid-2000s -- has in recent years battled with Hartsfield-Jackson. The next busiest, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, was a distant third in 2015 with 681,261 flights.
While O'Hare has far more cargo flights, Hartsfield-Jackson dominates in passenger travel. It has had the world's highest passenger traffic for the past 18 years, with more than 100 million people passing through last year.
Flights at Chicago Midway rose 1.7 percent to 253,519, making it the nation's 36th busiest airport.
kjanssen@tribpub.com
