Upgraded Points looked at the last 10 years and did a study to find out which airports grew the fastest and which declined.
The number one fastest growing airport in the U.S. was Dallas Love Field with a +90.39% growth rate, followed by Austin-Bergstrom International with a +62.92% growth rate. Memphis International took the top spot for the fastest declining airport, followed by Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International.
In their study, Upgraded Points looked at data from the Federal Aviation Administration between the years of 2007 and 2017. They focused on passenger enplanement, or all the revenue boarding passengers at each airport, including through passengers. Only airports with over three million passengers in 2007 were considered for this study.
The results of this study show that low-cost carriers are affecting the growth of airports across the United States. Dallas Love Field, for example, is a major hub for Southwest Airlines and when the Wright Amendment expired in October 2014, it skyrocketed the demand at Dallas Love Field beyond the legal limit of the airport's 20 gates.
As for Austin-Bergstrom Airport, it had a 12% growth in 2016-2017 alone and with more gates being constructed now, it's expected to continue to grow, matching the massive growth and tourism of the Austin itself.
Just yesterday, a new charter flight was announced between Taos and Dallas Love Field and Austin-Bergstrom Airport, proving that more routes and destinations are coming to these growing airports.
On the opposite end, both Memphis International and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International are suffering from Delta pulling their flights away from these airports.
In the future, the FAA has predicted that Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago will remain the three largest airports through 2045 in terms of passenger enplanements, while Ft. Lauderdale, San Diego, Boston, and Newark are projected to grow the fastest.
The FAA projections echo the Upgraded Points study, noting that the Southern region airports, like Dallas Love Field and Austin-Bergstrom International, are expected to stay in the top spot for passenger enplanements through 2045.
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