DIA ranks among world's busiest airports

Denver International Airport is ranked No. 4 in the world for takeoffs and landings and No. 10 for total passengers in 2010, according to a new report from the Airports Council International.

The report by the Montreal-based airport association, using preliminary data, says DIA saw 630,089 takeoffs and landings in 2010, up 3.8 percent from the previous year.

DIA trailed only the Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth airports for aircraft "movements" last year. Atlanta reported 950,119 takeoffs and landings in 2010.

As for passenger traffic, Denver saw 52,211,242 passengers boarding and exiting planes last year, up 4.1 percent from 2009, ACI reported. That total ranks 10th in the world and fifth among U.S. airports.

DIA officials have said previously that 2010 was a record year for the 16-year-old airport for passenger tallies.

Atlanta was No. 1 for 2010 passenger counts, with 89,331,622 passengers, followed by Beijing, Chicago-O'Hare, London-Heathrow, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Paris, Dallas and Frankfurt.

Denver's ranking in aircraft movements and passengers among the world's airports were unchanged from 2009.

Overall, worldwide air passenger totals rose 6.3 percent last year, following 2009's 2.7 percent decline, and air cargo volume was up 15.2 percent, ACI said.

"2010 underscored the resilience of the air transport business and resulted in over 5 billion annual passengers for the first time ever," ACI World Director General Angela Gittens said in a comment.

Denver Business Journal