Denver International Airport soared past previous passenger records in 2023, with 77.8 million passengers flying to, from and through Denver, marking a 12.3% increase over 2022 totals.
Airport officials described 2023 as DIA’s busiest year ever in a news release Wednesday, noting that every month set records in terms of passenger traffic volume.
It was “a year of extraordinary growth,” Chief Executive Officer Phil Washington said in a statement.
“…I am proud of the airport team for the ways that we have adjusted our strategies, invested in new technologies and worked to meet the moment while also continuing to prepare for the future,” Washington said.
Denver International Airport’s status as one of the busiest airports in the world is unlikely to change, according to airport officials, with 2023 data through October from Airports Council International showing DIA as the third-busiest airport in the United States and fifth-busiest in the world. Full-year data is expected in the spring.
July was the first month DIA has ever served more than 7 million passengers and now ranks as the airport’s busiest month ever, according to a news release, with October and August ranking as the second- and third-busiest months and also exceeding 7 million passengers.
It was also the first year Denver International Airport surpassed 4 million annual international passengers, a nearly 22% increase from 2022.
Denver’s largest carriers, United and Southwest, also set all-time passenger records in 2023. United reported more than 36 million passengers while Southwest served 24 million, according to the airport.
Frontier Airlines came in third, serving 7.5 million passengers in 2023.
Last year’s boom in passengers is largely due to more people connecting through Denver, airport officials said Wednesday.
While the number of people who flew through DIA as their point of origin or destination was essentially flat compared to 2019 numbers, passengers who connected through the airport increased by nearly 36%.
Passenger traffic is expected to keep growing and could exceed 100 million passengers annually by 2030, according to previous projections from an airport consultant.
Washington referenced DIA’s “Vision 100” strategic plan on Wednesday, the name for the airport’s effort to accommodate 100 million annual passengers in the coming years.
“It is incumbent upon us to ensure the airport’s infrastructure can continue to accommodate the growth we expect,” he said.
In the first month of 2024, that’s already included a new 17-lane security checkpoint and a new airline announcing a new nonstop flight to Rhode Island.
