CLT slips in ranking
Las Vegas' airport surpassed Charlotte's in the number of passengers it saw in 2025
The following article appeared in the Jan. 30, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Charlotte airport has second-best year as traffic falls 9%
by Ted Reed
Charlotte Douglas International Airport said Wednesday that in 2025, the airport handled 53.6 million passengers — enough to still be ranked among the 10 busiest U.S. airports, but likely insufficient to retain its status as the seventh-busiest.
Charlotte fell behind Las Vegas, which said on Thursday that its 2025 passenger total was about 55 million. Charlotte also seemed likely to fall behind Orlando, which had 52.4 million passengers through November but has not yet reported the full year. Falling behind both would make Charlotte the ninth-busiest U.S. airport.