Philadelphia International Airport Statistics

Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) ranks as the 21st busiest airport in the United States and is the fifth-largest hub for American Airlines. Over 30 million travelers pass through PHL each year, making the airport a vital transatlantic gateway for the Delaware Valley.

Philadelphia International Airport handles over 30 million passengers annually.

• PHL welcomed 30.14 million passengers in 2025, a 2.5% decrease from 2024 that interrupted the post-pandemic rebound.
• The airport handled 30.90 million passengers in 2024, up 9.8% from 28.13 million in 2023.
• Traffic peaked at 33.02 million in 2019, dipped to 11.87 million in 2020, then began climbing with 19.64 million passengers in 2021 and 25.24 million in 2022.
• Passenger totals in 2025 reached about 91% of the 2019 record.

International vs Domestic Passengers

PHL’s traffic is primarily domestic, yet international travel is recovering quickly and remains a growth focus.

• Domestic passengers: 25.99 million in 2025, 86.2% of total traffic, down 3.9% year over year
• International passengers: 4.15 million in 2025, 13.8% of total traffic, up 7.5% year over year

Enplaned vs Deplaned Passengers

Arrivals and departures at PHL stay nearly even, underscoring its dual role as a connecting hub and an origin-destination airport.

• Departing (enplaned) passengers 2025: 15.19 million
• Arriving (deplaned) passengers 2025: 14.95 million
• Gap between the two: less than 0.8%

The competitive landscape at Philadelphia International Airport is dominated by American Airlines as the hub carrier.

• American Airlines dominates with 19.99 million passengers in 2024 for a 64.7% market share.
• Frontier Airlines follows with 3.64 million passengers and 11.8% share.
• Delta Airlines served 1.9 million passengers (6.1%), Spirit Airlines carried 1.72 million (5.6%), and Southwest Airlines handled 1.37 million (4.4%).

Traffic at PHL follows a classic seasonal curve.

• August led 2025 with about 3.07 million passengers, closely followed by July at 3 million.
• June recorded 2.77 million passengers, while May and October saw 2.75 million and 2.73 million passengers, respectively.
• January and February remained the quietest months with 1.91 million and 1.89 million passengers.

PHL handles over 600,000 tons of cargo annually, but in 2023 to 2025, the figure dropped below this threshold.

• PHL processed 482,484 tons of freight in 2025, up 7.4% from 449,443 tons in 2024.
• Cargo volumes peaked at 643,138 tons in 2021, slipped to 625,261 tons in 2022, and further to 523,915 tons in 2023.
• Pre-pandemic 2019 volume was 607,501 tons, which increased to 623,128 tons in 2020.

PHL generates over $350 million in operating revenue annually.

• The Aviation Fund, which runs PHL without local tax support, reported $419.6 million in operating revenue for fiscal 2024, up 6% from $396 million in 2023.
• Revenue stood at $391.1 million in 2019, fell to $295.4 million in 2020 and $288.4 million in 2021, then climbed to $321.2 million in 2022.

• July 19 1970: United Airlines Flight 611 aborted takeoff after an engine failure, overran the runway and injured 19 of 61 people. No fatalities.
• June 23 1976: Allegheny Airlines Flight 121 crash-landed during a thunderstorm, injuring 86 of 106 passengers. No deaths.
• February 7 2006: A UPS DC-8 landed after an in-flight fire. No major injuries, aircraft lost.
• March 13 2014: US Airways Flight 1702 aborted takeoff, struck its tail and veered off the runway. No serious injuries, aircraft scrapped.
• April 17 2018: Southwest Flight 1380 suffered an engine failure, leading to one fatality and seven injuries.