The Atlanta metropolitan area is the largest international gateway in the United States, topping even New York, with nearly 6.2 million passengers passing through last year, according to a new Brookings study.
Yet the Atlanta area ranks only 12th in the nation when it comes to international travelers that start or end their trips in Atlanta. At Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, where Delta has its largest hub, some 70 percent of international travelers are connecting, meaning Atlanta depends on passengers from other cities across the United States to fill international flights.
“Any changes in airline operations or metropolitan preferences could lead to a serious drop in demand for their international flights, damaging their long-run international connectivity,” the study said. “Former gateways such as Cincinnati and Pittsburgh can provide important lessons” about the value of those connecting passengers “and the consequences when that traffic leaves.”
The think tank’s study also showed that the majority of the international passengers connecting through Atlanta are headed to Latin America and the Caribbean. A little over a quarter of them are headed to Western Europe, while the rest are spread among other parts of the world.
Additionally, there were 3.3 million international travelers who either started or ended their trips in metro Atlanta in 2011, according to the study. That’s up 40 percent from 2003, but it’s still a fraction of the connecting passenger traffic at Hartsfield-Jackson.
The Brookings study recommends focusing federal funding for airports on gateways like Atlanta.
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