Page last updated: 29 March 2026
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) anchors air travel across the Intermountain West region. The gateway moves more than 28 million passengers a year and serves as Delta Air Lines main western hub, posting record operational efficiency.
How many passengers pass through Salt Lake City International Airport each year?
Salt Lake City International Airport handles over 28 million passengers annually.
- Salt Lake City International Airport handled 28.16 million passengers in 2025, slightly down from 28.36 million in 2024.
- The airport recovered from the pandemic in 2023 with 26.95 million passengers, edging past the 2019 mark of 26.81 million.
- Traffic has risen steadily since dropping to 12.56 million in 2020 before rebounding to 22.38 million in 2021 and 25.75 million in 2022.
International vs Domestic Passengers
While SLC is overwhelmingly domestic, international traffic is growing in strategic importance.
- Domestic passengers comprised approximately 26.66 million travelers in 2025, representing about 94.7% of total traffic.
- International passengers totaled approximately 1.5 million in 2025, accounting for 5.3% of total traffic.
Enplaned vs Deplaned Passengers
SLC posts a near-perfect balance between boarding and arriving travelers, underscoring its dual role as a connecting hub and origin-destination airport.
- Deplaned passengers totaled 14.22 million in 2025, slightly exceeding the 13.94 million enplaned passengers.
- The difference between deplaned and enplaned was approximately 1.0% of total traffic, indicating balanced traffic flow typical of major hub operations.
Passenger Flow at SLC: Enplaned vs Deplaned (2019-2025)
| Year | Enplaned Passengers (in Millions) | Deplaned Passengers (in Millions) |
| 2019 | 13.40 | 13.41 |
| 2020 | 6.29 | 6.27 |
| 2021 | 11.18 | 11.20 |
| 2022 | 12.87 | 12.88 |
| 2023 | 13.38 | 13.57 |
| 2024 | 14.03 | 14.34 |
| 2025 | 13.94 | 14.22 |
Aircraft Operations at Salt Lake City International Airport
Salt Lake City International Airport records over 300,000 aircraft operations annually, excluding the pandemic period.
- SLC recorded 333,290 aircraft operations in 2025, a 1.5 % rise from 328,352 in 2024.
- Activity stood at 344,715 in 2019 and dipped to 276,730 in 2020.
- Operations rebounded to 342,519 in 2021 before easing to 322,011 in 2022 and 319,006 in 2023.
Aircraft Operations by Type
- Commercial carriers executed the majority of 2025 movements at SLC, totaling 256,008 flights.
- Cargo operations made up 12,056 movements, and general aviation activity totaled 62,281 movements.
- Military flights were the least common, with just 2,945 recorded operations.
Aircraft Operations at SLC by Type (2019-2025)
| Year | Passenger Carrier | All Cargo | General Aviation | Military |
| 2019 | 256,550 | 20,384 | 63,713 | 4,068 |
| 2020 | 187,906 | 20,706 | 65,134 | 2,984 |
| 2021 | 249,018 | 20,824 | 69,842 | 2,835 |
| 2022 | 232,450 | 18,686 | 67,832 | 3,043 |
| 2023 | 235,130 | 16,078 | 63,235 | 4,563 |
| 2024 | 247,738 | 15,492 | 62,097 | 3,025 |
| 2025 | 256,008 | 12,056 | 62,281 | 2,945 |
Which airlines operate the most flights out of Salt Lake City International Airport?
Delta Air Lines dominates SLC with more than half of all passengers.
- Delta Airlines carried 17.4 million passengers (61.8% market share) in 2025
- SkyWest Airlines, operating Delta Connection flights, served 3.67 million passengers (13% market share)
- Southwest Airlines ranks as the third-largest individual carrier with 2.87 million passengers (10.2% market share)
- American Airlines and United Airlines follow with 1.29 million (4.6%) and 1.22 million (4.3%) passengers respectively.
Top 10 Airlines at SLC Airport by Passenger Volume (2025)
| Airline | Total Passengers | Market Share |
| Delta | 17,398,416 | 61.8% |
| Skywest (Delta Connection) | 3,670,377 | 13.0% |
| Southwest | 2,873,827 | 10.2% |
| American | 1,292,167 | 4.6% |
| United | 1,217,605 | 4.3% |
| Frontier | 976,363 | 3.5% |
| United Express | 414,729 | 1.5% |
| Alaska | 369,725 | 1.3% |
| Skywest (Alaska Connection) | 233,095 | 0.8% |
| Skywest (American Connection) | 185,720 | 0.7% |
Routes from Salt Lake City International Airport
- SLC provides nonstop service to nearly 100 destinations globally.
- The airport operates approximately 300 to 370 scheduled daily departures.
Monthly Trends in passenger traffic at SLC
Passenger volume tops 2 million every month.
- In 2025, the busiest months were July (2.59 million), June (2.52 million), and March (2.50 million).
- The slowest were November (2.05 million), February (2.12 million), and January (2.23 million).
- Traffic climbs from winter into early summer then tapers through fall before a modest uptick in December.
Which destinations are the most popular from Salt Lake City International Airport?
Domestic Destinations
- Denver, Colorado (DEN) emerged as the top domestic destination with approximately 936,440 passengers.
- Phoenix, Arizona (PHX) attracted around 695,900 travelers.
- Los Angeles, California (LAX) served approximately 622,630 passengers.
- Las Vegas, Nevada (LAS) and Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (DFW) complete the top five with 592,220 and 565,660 passengers respectively.
International Destinations
- Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) was the most popular international destination with 222,622 passengers in 2024.
- Paris, France (CDG) attracted 168,160 travelers.
- Cancún, Mexico (CUN) served 145,937 passengers.
- San José del Cabo (SJD) and Mexico city (MEX), both in Mexico with 122,376 and 102,327 passengers respectively round out the top five international destinations.
Salt Lake City Travel Resources
How much cargo does Salt Lake City International Airport handle annually?
Salt Lake City International Airport handles over 300 million pounds of cargo each year. However, cargo volume exceeded 400 million pounds during the pandemic period
- SLC processed 295.3 million pounds of freight and mail in 2025, down from 325.4 million pounds in 2024 and 333 million pounds in 2023.
- Volumes spiked during the pandemic, peaking at 420 million pounds in 2020 and 412.5 million pounds in 2021.
- Pre-pandemic, 2019 throughput was 388.3 million pounds.
Delays and Cancellations at Salt Lake City International Airport
- On-time departures: 83% in 2024 (steady from the previous year).
- On-time arrivals: 84% in 2024 (steady from the previous year).
- Average departure delay: 71.20 minutes, increase from 68.94 minutes in 2023
- Average arrival delay: 73.80 minutes, up from 72.0 minutes in 2023
- Cancellation rate: 0.62% in 2024, down from 0.75 % in 2023
How much revenue has Salt Lake City International Airport generated each year?
Salt Lake City International Airport crossed $500 million for the first time in the financial year 2024.
- The airport generated $299.9 million in 2019, which dropped to $266.4 million in 2020, due to the pandemic.
- Revenue recovered in 2021 to $305.9 million and climbed to $398.7 million in 2022.
- It continued rising to $442.3 million in 2023, peaking at $555.8 million in 2024.
Note: FY 2025 revenue data for Salt Lake City International Airport is not available yet
Major Incidents at Salt Lake City International Airport
- Jan 15 1987: SkyWest Flight 1834 collided midair with a Mooney M20, killing 10.
- Oct 14 1989: A fire aboard Delta Flight 1554 during boarding injured five and destroyed the aircraft.
- Mar 2 1997: A Beechcraft Super King Air crashed south of the airport, killing one of four onboard.
- Nov 16 2015: An Air France A380 diverted to SLC after a bomb threat, the airport’s largest landing.
- Jan 18 2016: A Cessna 525 crashed after takeoff, killing both occupants.
- Mar 30 2021: A Delta 757 carrying the Utah Jazz landed safely after a bird strike, no injuries reported.
- Jan 1 2024: A man died after entering a Delta A220 engine following an emergency exit breach.
Other US Airport Statistics
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport Statistics
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
- Denver International Airport
- Detroit Metropolitan Airport Statistics
- Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)
- Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- John F. Kennedy International Airport Statistics
- Los Angeles International Airport
- Miami International Airport
- Orlando International Airport (MCO)
- O’Hare International Airport Statistics
- Philadelphia International Airport Statistics
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Statistics
- San Francisco International Airport Statistics
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Statistics
USA Travel Statistics Resources
- Arizona Statistics (incl. Grand Canyon National Park)
- California Statistics (incl. Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Universal Studios Hollywood)
- Florida Statistics (incl. Destin, Key West, Miami, Orlando, Universal Orlando, Walt Disney World)
- Hawaii Statistics (incl. Kauai, Maui, Oahu)
- Illinois Statistics (incl. Chicago)
- Louisiana Statistics (incl. New Orleans)
- Massachusetts Statistics (incl. Boston)
- Nevada Statistics (incl. Las Vegas)
- New York Statistics (incl. New York City, Statue of Liberty)
- South Dakota Statistics (incl. Mount Rushmore)
- Tennessee Statistics (incl. Memphis, Nashville)
- Texas Statistics (incl. Dallas, Houston, San Antonio)
- Utah Statistics
- Washington Statistics (incl. Seattle)
- Yellowstone National Park Statistics
References
- SLCA: Salt Lake City International Airport Overview
- DT: International Destination of Passenger from Salt Lake City International Airport
- BTS: Top Domestic Destination of Passenger from Salt Lake City International Airport and On-Time Performance Summary
- NTSB: Salt Lake City International Airport Incident Information
