Top US airports see fewer flights post-pandemic

Five major airports have lost over 100 daily departures each. Chicago O'Hare International Airport, the third-busiest globally and in the US, has seen a reduction of about 239 daily departures (-18%). This average varies depending on specific days.

Southwest Airlines' services at O'Hare decreased by a third; American Airlines' by a quarter; and United Airlines' by a fifth. These airlines have shifted their growth priorities elsewhere while also facing reduced business travel demand and fleet adjustments.

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport has particularly felt this impact with a nearly one-quarter reduction in its outbound flights. Delta Air Lines is largely responsible for this decline (-27%), whereas other airlines saw an overall decrease of -11%. Delta's upgauging efforts at Detroit mean that although flight numbers dropped significantly, seat capacity did not reduce as drastically due to larger aircraft being used.

Delta Connection flights from Detroit fell by half while non-regional jet operations increased slightly by 1%. The airport now serves fewer non-stop destinations—107 compared to the previous count of 131 in July 2019—and has dropped from being the world's 30th busiest airport pre-pandemic to the current rank of 54th.