Despite a number of air traffic meltdowns and then required reductions during the 43-day government shutdown, U.S. air travel hit its highest totals in over 15 years, including several individual-day records.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s year-end report totaled 17.2 million flights last year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels which were just under the 17 million mark in 2019. For 2024, the total was also just under 17 million.
American Airlines was the busiest of the carriers, both domestically and worldwide, with 2.3 million flights, followed by Delta at 1.8, United at 1.7 and Southwest at 1.4 million. The only non-U.S. airline in the top five, Ryanair, hit 1.1 million.
In more esoteric measures, American Airlines also led globally in seat capacity in 2025, with 279.6 million seats, followed by Delta with 246.9 million seats Southwest at 229.2 million and United 225.5 million seats. Another performance metric for airlines is Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs). When ranked by ASKs, United Airlines leads the industry with 536.5 billion, followed by American Airlines with 487.9 billion ASKs.
