Over 58.8 million passengers traveled through Denver International Airport last year, a 15% decline compared to pre-pandemic annual passenger traffic in 2019, according to passenger traffic data published Monday.

Though travel has not returned to pre-COVID heights, the airport’s passenger traffic increased by 74% compared to 2020, with most of the traffic recovery occurring in the second half of 2021.

The first six months of the year saw passenger traffic 25% below the same period in 2019, while passenger traffic in the last six months of 2021 was only 6% below the same period in 2019, according to the data. Airport officials attributed the traffic recovery to strong domestic travel demand and an increase in connecting passengers.

“It’s encouraging to see (the airport)’s passenger traffic continue to rebound toward pre-pandemic levels,” said airport CEO Phil Washington. “I’m especially optimistic about the steady return of international passengers as we look forward to welcoming new visitors and opening more doors to the world in 2022.”

The airport saw a record 69 million passengers in 2019. Washington said the airport predicts it will see 72.8 million passengers in 2022.

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In the first half of 2022, Denver International Airport plans to resume service on Air France, Cayman Airways, Edelweiss and WestJet, in addition to starting new service by Canadian ULCC Flair Airlines.

Despite the pandemic-related travel decreases, Denver International Airport was the third busiest airport in the world in 2021, beat only by the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta and Dallas Fort Worth airports, according to passenger traffic data through October. Global data for November and December is expected to be released in the spring.

In 2021, connecting passengers accounted for 41% of passengers at Denver International Airport — up more than five percentage points from 2019. International passengers accounted for only 3% or 1.9 million of the airport’s passengers — a 40% decline from 2019 but more than double the number of international passengers in 2020.

Cargo volume transported at the airport slightly increased in 2021, reaching 673 million pounds. That is a 2% increase from 2020 and a 0.2% increase from 2019.

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Last year, the airport was the largest operation based on scheduled flights for Frontier, United and Southwest airlines. Three airlines also saw an increase in passenger traffic at the airport compared to 2019: Allegiant, Aeromexico and Volaris.