A flag in the new Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
ATLANTA -- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport set another record in 2011: international passenger traffic hit an all-time high.
About 9.86 million international travelers passed through the airport last year, eclipsing the previous record of 9.18, set in 2008.
Overall passenger traffic also increased in 2011, allowing Hartsfield-Jackson to keep its title of "world's busiest airport."
"This is substantial growth in an important sector for the airport and for the city of Atlanta," airport general manager Louis Miller said in a statement. "These numbers underscore the importance and role of the new international terminal in meeting forecast growth in the coming years."
The new Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal and its 12-gate concourse are scheduled to open this spring.
When the airport's international Concourse E first opened in 1994, it hosted about three million passengers and offered service to 19 international destinations in 16 countries.
Today, the airport offers nonstop service to nearly 80 international destinations in 50 countries.
The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that more than 13 million international passengers will travel through Hartsfield-Jackson annually by 2015, an increase of more than 30 percent over 2011.