Most common domestic destinations from San Diego International Airport

Stacker
·5 min read
Canva

Air travel looks very different now than it did just a few years ago when the coronavirus pandemic grounded folks around the world, putting a halt to travel for both leisure and business.

In 2020, passenger traffic on U.S. airlines was at its lowest since the mid-1980s, with just 369 million passengers. In 2021, the U.S. started to get back to more normal air travel levels, and by 2022, the country was up to 853 million airline passengers. By the looks of it, 2023 is likely to outpace those numbers and return to pre-pandemic levels—nearly 3 million people flew in and out of U.S. airports daily as of April 2023, according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Organization.

When you’re at the airport, shuffling around with your roller bag, backpack, neck pillow, and water bottle among the thousands of other passengers doing the same, you’re probably not too concerned with more than your flight. Is it on time? Who will be sitting next to you? Did your checked bag make it onto the plane?

But when you’re not in flight mode, you may be wondering where all of the other folks at your local airport are traveling to. To answer that question, Stacker compiled a list of the most common domestic flights from San Diego International using data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Destinations are ranked by total passengers from October 2022 to September 2023.

Read on to find out if your flight patterns are similar to your fellow San Diego International travelers.

#20. Logan International (Boston, MA)

– Passengers: 229,696 (2.0% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. JetBlue Airways: 114,928
— #2. Delta Air Lines: 59,587
— #3. Alaska Airlines: 54,660

#19. George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (Houston, TX)

– Passengers: 245,574 (2.1% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. United Air Lines: 244,718
— #2. Southwest Airlines: 505
— #3. Swift Air, LLC d/b/a Eastern Air Lines d/b/a Eastern: 281

#18. Charlotte Douglas International (Charlotte, NC)

– Passengers: 247,332 (2.1% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. American Airlines: 247,098
— #2. Southwest Airlines: 210

#17. Minneapolis-St Paul International (Minneapolis, MN)

– Passengers: 250,502 (2.2% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. Delta Air Lines: 208,681
— #2. Sun Country Airlines d/b/a MN Airlines: 41,719
— #3. Southwest Airlines: 102

#16. Austin – Bergstrom International (Austin, TX)

– Passengers: 254,396 (2.2% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. Southwest Airlines: 157,346
— #2. Alaska Airlines: 84,870
— #3. Allegiant Air: 11,879

#15. Newark Liberty International (Newark, NJ)

– Passengers: 258,236 (2.2% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. United Air Lines: 204,133
— #2. Alaska Airlines: 53,919
— #3. Delta Air Lines: 184

#14. Daniel K Inouye International (Honolulu, HI)

– Passengers: 268,495 (2.3% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. Southwest Airlines: 120,514
— #2. Hawaiian Airlines: 92,147
— #3. Alaska Airlines: 55,592

#13. Salt Lake City International (Salt Lake City, UT)

– Passengers: 319,228 (2.8% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. Delta Air Lines: 257,689
— #2. Southwest Airlines: 51,088
— #3. SkyWest Airlines: 10,438

#12. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (Atlanta, GA)

– Passengers: 389,104 (3.4% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. Delta Air Lines: 365,676
— #2. Frontier Airlines: 16,012
— #3. Southwest Airlines: 7,400

#11. John F. Kennedy International (New York, NY)

– Passengers: 394,460 (3.4% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. Delta Air Lines: 146,806
— #2. JetBlue Airways: 137,728
— #3. Alaska Airlines: 109,926

#10. Chicago O’Hare International (Chicago, IL)

– Passengers: 401,021 (3.5% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. United Air Lines: 243,909
— #2. American Airlines: 155,708
— #3. Southwest Airlines: 1,403

#9. Metro Oakland International (Oakland, CA)

– Passengers: 421,409 (3.6% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. Southwest Airlines: 384,318
— #2. Spirit Air Lines: 37,091

#8. Dallas/Fort Worth International (Dallas/Fort Worth, TX)

– Passengers: 558,477 (4.8% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. American Airlines: 502,791
— #2. Frontier Airlines: 55,239
— #3. United Air Lines: 444

#7. Sacramento International (Sacramento, CA)

– Passengers: 616,727 (5.3% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. Southwest Airlines: 528,657
— #2. SkyWest Airlines: 88,070

#6. Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International (San Jose, CA)

– Passengers: 624,353 (5.4% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. Southwest Airlines: 508,152
— #2. SkyWest Airlines: 100,231
— #3. Spirit Air Lines: 14,457

#5. San Francisco International (San Francisco, CA)

– Passengers: 627,016 (5.4% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. United Air Lines: 273,117
— #2. Southwest Airlines: 172,948
— #3. SkyWest Airlines: 172,189

#4. Seattle/Tacoma International (Seattle, WA)

– Passengers: 629,876 (5.5% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. Alaska Airlines: 408,818
— #2. Delta Air Lines: 210,284
— #3. Southwest Airlines: 7,859

#3. Phoenix Sky Harbor International (Phoenix, AZ)

– Passengers: 633,047 (5.5% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. Southwest Airlines: 355,822
— #2. American Airlines: 216,715
— #3. Frontier Airlines: 52,933

#2. Denver International (Denver, CO)

– Passengers: 722,151 (6.3% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. United Air Lines: 296,536
— #2. Southwest Airlines: 283,617
— #3. Frontier Airlines: 141,226

#1. Harry Reid International (Las Vegas, NV)

– Passengers: 803,223 (7.0% of all passengers)
– Top carriers:
— #1. Southwest Airlines: 473,237
— #2. Spirit Air Lines: 232,527
— #3. Frontier Airlines: 79,698

This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jaimie Etkin, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 199 metros.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.