The number of passengers that flew on U.S. airlines increased to 730 million in 2011, up 1.3 percent from the previous year, according to data released by Department of Transportation on Thursday.
Nearly 640 million passengers -- an all-time high -- flew on domestic flights while 92.5 million flew internationally on U.S. airlines.
DOT's report on annual airline traffic also ranked Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International as the most trafficked airport for domestic departures, and Delta and Southwest, respectively, as the airlines that carried the most international and domestic passengers in 2011.
Though the increase in passengers in 2011 was small, the Federal Aviation Administration recently announced that airline passenger travel will double by 2032, reaching 1.2 billion.
In February, DOT released its annual report on airline performance, showing a plateau with few drastic improvements or declines in service. (See: Report: Air travel didn't improve much in 2011)
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