Orlando Airport Soars Up List of 10 Busiest in US!

Tourists visiting Walt Disney World typically fly through Orlando International Airport, which is one of the 10 busiest in the United States, and among the few that continue to increase passenger volume even amidst a slowdown in travel! Given that the vast majority of non-local WDW guests rely on MCO, we figured it’d be worth quickly covering this–along with travel tips to avoid missed flights and reduce stress.

Airports Council International North America (ACI-NA) issued its annual airport rankings for 2025, and Orlando International Airport (MCO) “improved” its national ranking as the busiest airport for passengers, from 9th place in 2024 to 7th in 2025. Based on the rankings, MCO held its place as the #1 busiest airport in Florida and the 25th busiest in the entire world.

In total, MCO recorded a slight increase of passengers in 2025 at 57,675,573 compared to 57,211,628 in 2024. MCO’s growing footprint was largely due to growth of international travel. Three new transatlantic nonstop destinations were opened from Orlando: Munich, Madrid, and Paris.

“These numbers are reflective of Central Florida’s continued growth and global appeal,” said Lance Lyttle, CEO of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA), which manages MCO. “They also show why it is important to embrace a strategic vision that focuses on enhancing customer service while addressing critical infrastructure needs.”

Zooming out and looking at the bigger picture, global travel demand remained strong in 2025. Despite, ahem, tensions,  international passenger traffic at North American airports grew 0.3 percent over 2024. If you’re surprised by this, it’s likely that growth from key international markets offset decreases from others.

While the ACI-NA release doesn’t break down international markets, what we saw from Visit Florida data is that strong increases from Latin American countries such as Brazil and Argentina, as well as select European markets, more than offset the decreases elsewhere. Florida as a whole (not just MCO) saw growth across all top 5 overseas origin countries year over year. Brazil grew 10.4%, Argentina was up 17.8% and Spain entered the top 10 origin countries with 10.4% growth in visitors.

The ACI-NA data shows that domestic volumes softened slightly, which is consistent with the data we’ve seen from MCO. Industry analysts attribute this to supply chain constraints affecting aircraft deliveries and slower capacity growth among low-cost carriers. Given what has already happened in 2026 with the demise of Spirit Airlines and skyrocketing jet fuel prices (and airfare along with it), our expectation is that this trend has only accelerated.

Here’s the breakdown via Airports Council International North America…

U.S. Airport Rankings

Passenger traffic declined slightly in 2025, falling 0.7 percent from 2024, driven by lower domestic passenger volumes. While international passenger traffic grew 0.3 percent, domestic passenger volumes fell 1.0 percent from 2024.

Here’s how each of the top 10 airports performed, including their total passenger count and year-over-year growth:

Rank	Airport Name	Airport Code	Total Passengers	% Change 2025 – 2024
1	Atlanta International Airport	ATL	106,302,208	-1.6%
2	Dallas Fort Worth International Airport	DFW	85,660,127	-2.5%
3	Chicago O’Hare International Airport	ORD	84,856,018	6.0%
4	Denver International Airport	DEN	82,427,962	0.1%
5	Los Angeles International Airport	LAX	73,709,594	-3.8%
6	John F. Kennedy International Airport	JFK	62,629,455	-1.0%
7	Orlando International Airport	MCO	57,675,573	0.8%
8	Miami International Airport	MIA	55,314,661	-1.1%
9	Harry Reid International Airport	LAS	55,030,375	-5.9%
10	San Francisco International Airport	SFO	54,532,613	4.3%

Orlando ranking #7 in the United States is really impressive. Although it has tremendous untapped potential, as discussed below, we’d be surprised if MCO ever makes the top 5. All of those are either huge cities, major hubs for legacy carriers, or both.

Maybe with the right long-term strategic vision, MCO could become an international gateway city, but even so, it’s very difficult to see Orlando International surpassing Los Angeles. That would require an increase of ~15 million passengers, coupled with no net gain for LAX. (At a time when LAX is preparing for its own growth.)

MCO’s Strategic Vision for Growth

The GOAA Board approved a refined strategic vision for MCO and the Orlando Executive Airport (ORL) in October 2025. The plan, called “Elevating MCO & ORL: The Vision Forward,” will shape the future of The Orlando Experience.

Some of the airport’s future plans include:

• Implementing a new Baggage Handling System for Terminals A and B by 2030
• Adding 8,000 public parking spaces by expanding Garages A and C, along with rental car improvements, by 2030.
• Upgrading and adding restrooms in Terminals A and B while renovating Levels 2 and 3
• Selecting the concept and systems that will help move passengers and improve mobility in Terminal C’s post-security area within fiscal year 2026

The airport’s standing as the busiest airport in Florida demonstrates strong demand for the region and reinforces Orlando’s position as a premier destination for visitors, connections, and business investment. MCO works with several regional partners, such as Visit Orlando and Experience Kissimmee, to ensure the region’s tourism community remains strong and supports future air service growth.

MCO’s Limitations

For the last few years, MCO has largely been treading water. The GOAA originally forecast a record-breaking 60 million passengers in 2024, or a 10% increase from 2023’s record 57.7 million passengers. Due to a slowdown in the second half of the year, the actual number ended up being 57,211,628. As noted above, that increased slightly last year to 57,675,573.

This is largely a story of infrastructure, in ways good and bad. The good is the addition of the new Terminal C, which has given the airport a higher ceiling. The bad is capacity constraints, which have prevented MCO from meeting organic demand during periods of higher travel. This is a big driver behind the aforementioned plan, which we covered in greater detail here: Orlando International Airport’s Big $6 Billion Expansion & Enhancement Plan.

Another consideration here is the explosive population growth in Central Florida. While the focus is on tourism here, there’s also the obvious reality that locals also use airports, and more people living around Orlando means more people using the airport.

That almost certainly has a bigger impact on domestic data than international, but Floridians do travel abroad–and there’s also a surprisingly large number of people from Brazil, Canada, etc. with second homes in Central Florida. Portuguese was the dominant second language in our subdivision when we lived near Walt Disney World.

In other words, MCO already hit an all-time record thanks to the added capacity of Terminal C, but the airport is still struggling to keep up with demand during peak periods. I don’t know if it could’ve hit 60 million when pent-up demand was running hot, but this is largely a story of infrastructure.

Surviving MCO

During peak travel periods, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority advises arriving at least three hours in advance of your flight at MCO to allow time for luggage drop-off, ticketing and security processing. You should be at your gate one hour before boarding.

Of all airports we’ve flown, MCO is consistently the most chaotic for departures. This is due to a confluence of circumstances: long lines for check-in counters and security, storms delaying flights, significantly higher traveler volume without infrastructure keeping pace, overcrowded seating areas, and the fact that this is only the second flight many families have ever flown (the first being the one to Walt Disney World).

I’ve encountered more long lines and delays getting to my gate at MCO than any other airport–and I fly out of LAX regularly! I can safely arrive at SNA like ~30 minutes before my flight. I’d never even consider anything less than 90 minutes at MCO.

Our warnings with regard to MCO have more been about adjusting expectations and helping readers prepare accordingly. Most importantly, arriving sufficiently early. There are plenty of seasoned travelers who might arrive an hour before their flights elsewhere, but that’s a recipe for disaster at MCO in certain circumstances. Those who subscribe to “Airport Theory” are playing with fire. (If you’ve never heard of it, consider yourself lucky–it’s a dumb TikTok thing.)

We experienced the need for this earlier than normal arrival first-hand and documented it in Our Awful Airport Experiences at Walt Disney World. Those were major problems getting from Walt Disney World to MCO, and then at the Delta counter for self-service luggage drop. That line ended up taking me over an hour. Just to drop off a bag and verify my ID.

Whenever I’m flying solo, I do so with only a carry-on. This alone bypasses the biggest pain-point at MCO. If you do have checked bags, doing curbside check-in can be the way to go to save time. Definitely worth considering the cost for the convenience!

To mitigate issues, we also recommend using TSA PreCheck and opting into TSA PreCheck Touchless. I finally had success with this at MCO recently, and it was an absolute breeze. I was through security in ~5 minutes, which never happens at MCO. (Since Easter, the airport has anecdotally felt much slower whenever I’ve passed through.)

Passengers without PreCheck can book a time to go through airport security using the free MCO Reserve service. (We’ve never used this, but I’ve heard positive feedback, albeit limited. If anyone here has used it, we’d love more MCO Reserve reviews!)

If you’re eligible, use the free Airport Luggage Transfer at Walt Disney World. Not having to hassle with baggage drop-off or handling your own luggage at the airport is both a time-saver and stress-reliever during busier times of year at MCO. It’s really too bad this hasn’t rolled out to more than just Value Resorts, but an expansion should be coming soon!

We would also caution against using Mears Connect for returning to the airport (from MCO to WDW is fine). Although we’ve never had issues, we’ve heard horror stories, and with the likelihood of increased delays in getting through security, your margin for error is much more slim.

Speaking of the airport shuttle, one ‘solution’ to MCO’s woes that we can all agree on is bringing back Disney’s Magical Express. You might think I’m kidding, but I’m dead serious. Even GOAA and MCO officials agree that DME should return, and are willing to help subsidize the costs given how it would help relieve overstressed infrastructure.

If you don’t believe me, check out Will Disney’s Magical Express Airport Shuttle Ever Return? Clearly the return of DME is the remedy for all that ails the airport!

There are times when Orlando International Airport hits a soft ceiling on its operational capacity. Throughout much of the year, the airport is bursting at the seams and has unsatisfied demand. It can feel like peak season at MCO even during the off-season due to the aforementioned capacity constraints.

Anyone who has traveled through MCO in the last few years has probably experienced this dynamic (unless you travel during the off-season or have gotten very lucky!). It doesn’t really matter what time of year, what time of day, etc. The airport is almost always busy–much busier than it was back in 2019.

Seating areas at the gates are so full that they’ve added overflow seating to walkways, and those are now full. The parking lots routinely are full, there’s traffic congestion just dropping people off or making pickups, lines to get through TSA are often 30+ minutes–you get the idea.

Ultimately, MCO’s continued growth is impressive. The airport saw an international increase of 8.2% year over year, which is a big gain! It’s not as if that was driven by an easy comparison, either; international traffic had grown for 57 consecutive months until that streak was snapped this winter. This is also higher than Florida as a whole, suggesting that Orlando is outperforming the statewide stats.

The best explanation for MCO’s growth is the new terminal, but that’s still impressive. Added capacity doesn’t result in record numbers unless there’s also demand. (One possibility is that they’re not all tourists; that the aforementioned individuals with second homes in Central Florida are more likely to travel to and from the Sunshine State when there are more routes and prices are reasonable.)

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

What do you think of the airport stats for last year? Surprised that Orlando International Airport has risen to #7 in the United States? Think it’ll continue the climb and eventually make the top 5? Interested to see attendance figures for last year at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando? Agree or disagree with any of our analysis? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!