This week's video explores the good, the bad, and the ugly of air travel. Now, it's easy to Google the busiest airports in the United States, but what about the pound-for-pound champions? In other words, which US airports carry the most passengers, per capita, in and out of the city?
It's a question that takes us down some interesting rabbit holes. How are airport runways configured? Where are airports located? If there are two or more in a metro area, what differentiates them -- ability to handle intercontinental flights, lower overhead for low-cost carriers, location within the metro area? And a big question: given the land use, pollution, and noise issues on the one hand and sheer convenience on the other, is it better to have an airport close to the city or far away?
Our journey will take us to some of the nations biggest transfer hubs (Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, Denver International, Charlotte Douglas) and the biggest airline destinations (Hawaii, Las Vegas, Orlando). Which generates more enplanements per capita, hub activity or raw tourism?
I hope you enjoy this week's exploration!
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Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
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Resources:
- https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/previous_years#2019
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2019/jul/19/carbon-calculator-how-taking-one-flight-emits-as-much-as-many-people-do-in-a-year
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_busiest_airports_by_passenger_traffic
- https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/american-airlines-caribbean-guide
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lauderdale%E2%80%93Hollywood_International_Airport
- https://airlinemaps.tumblr.com/tagged/United%20Airlines
- https://www.flysfo.com/about/construction/sfo-tomorrow/airfield-improvements
- https://news.delta.com/route-map-us-canada
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Douglas_International_Airport
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_hub
- https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/universal-backing-sunrail-expansion-from-airport-to-i-drive
- https://metroplanorlando.org/wp-content/uploads/OIA-Refresh-Alternatives-Analysis-Final-Report1-Feb-2016.pdf
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_hotels
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver_International_Airport
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Images
- Husky Stadium By University of Washington - http://www.gohuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=208568068, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30782419
- Atlanta Airport (thumbnail) By formulanone from Huntsville, United States - Atlanta Airport Aerial Angle, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61801195
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Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
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