Denver International Airport is even busier than you realize.
What's new: Denver's airport ranked No. 3 nationwide in 2020 — but in 2021, the transit hub jumped to a new level, becoming the third busiest in the world with 58.8 million passengers.
By the numbers: DIA's growth in recent years is exponential. It ranked 19th busiest in the world in 2017 and 2018, and eighth in 2020.
Last year, only the Atlanta and Dallas airports saw more traffic, according to preliminary data from Airports Council International.
Yes, but: Passenger traffic in 2021 still didn't recover to pre-pandemic levels. Denver saw 15% fewer travelers in 2021 compared to 2019; but it's beginning to turn.
This February was the first month since the pandemic that DIA saw a monthly increase compared to 2019.
Between the lines: The airport's geographic position makes it an ideal connection point for domestic air travel.
"Despite the challenges, [DIA] has shown resiliency through the pandemic and has proven why Denver is such an important hub for our airline partners," said airport CEO Phil Washington in a statement.