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Rankings / Routes / Atlanta to Tampa

2025 flights

Atlanta to Tampa

Between Atlanta and Tampa, 2.0 million passengers flew nonstop in 2025, on 12 thousand flights of about 406 miles and 1.1 hours in the air. The average passenger accounted for about 73 kg of CO2 from the fuel burned, from 60 kg on Frontier Airlines to 83 kg on Southwest Airlines.

  • 73 kgCO2 per passenger, average
  • 406 milesabout 1.1 hours in the air
  • 2.0 millionpassengers in 2025
  • 84%of seats filled

CO2 per passenger, airline by airline

CO2 per passenger by airline, Atlanta to TampaBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on each airline between Atlanta and Tampa in 2025.020406080Frontier Airlines60 kgSpirit Airlines64 kgDelta Air Lines73 kgSouthwest Airlines83 kg
CO2 per passenger by airline, Atlanta to TampaBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on each airline between Atlanta and Tampa in 2025.0255075Frontier Airlines60 kgSpirit Airlines64 kgDelta Air Lines73 kgSouthwest Airlines83 kg
Kilograms of CO2 per passenger, one way, 2025. Fuel burned only. Less is better.
Atlanta to Tampa by airline, 2025
AirlineShare of passengersFlights (thousands)Main aircraftSeats per flightSeats filledkg CO2 per passenger
Delta Air Lines77%8.6Boeing 757-200, Airbus A32119888%73
Frontier Airlines11%1.4Airbus A320neo, Airbus A321neo20676%60
Southwest Airlines9%1.6Boeing 737-700, Boeing 737 MAX 815969%83
Spirit Airlines3%0.4Airbus A320-200, Airbus A321neo19877%64

What explains the differences

It's number 73 of the 100 busiest city pairs by passengers, and number 77 for the lowest CO2 per mile flown (0.18 kg per passenger-mile, number 1 being the lowest). A typical route of 406 miles in this set comes out at about 78 kg, so this one is 7.6% below it.

The flights use more than one pair of airports: ATL to TPA (100%), ATL to LAL (0%). The figures here cover all of them.

The airlines on this route differ by 38% per passenger. Frontier Airlines burned 963 gallons per flight and 156 passengers on each, and Southwest Airlines 930 gallons and 109 passengers. The gap comes from how many passengers share each flight, not from fuel burned per flight. Frontier Airlines flew 76% full here against 69% for Southwest Airlines, flying mostly Airbus A320neo against Boeing 737-700.

For comparison, the EPA default factor for a flight of this length (0.129 kg per passenger-mile) would give 52 kg. The EPA figure is a national average for flights of that length. The measured figure for this route is 38% higher.

2019 compared with 2025

In 2019 the route carried 2.2 million passengers on 14 thousand flights. In 2025 it carried 2.0 million, down 10%, on 12 thousand flights, down 16%. The average flight had 176 seats then and 194 now, and 86% of them were filled against 84%.

CO2 per passenger was 71 kg in 2019 and 73 kg in 2025, up 1.8%. Fuel burned per flight was up 9.4% (1,106 gallons to 1,210) and passengers per flight were up 7.5% (151 to 163). The distance flown was about the same (406 miles then, 406 now).

Delta Air Lines led in both years, with 72% of passengers in 2019 and 77% in 2025. Southwest Airlines lost the most, 19% to 9%. Frontier Airlines didn't have 1% of the passengers in 2019 and now carries 11%.

Airline by airline, Southwest Airlines went from 81 kg to 83 kg per passenger (148 seats per flight to 159, main aircraft Boeing 737-700 in both years); Delta Air Lines went from 69 kg to 73 kg per passenger (187 seats per flight to 198, main aircraft Boeing 757-200 in both years).

Atlanta to Tampa, 2019 and 2025
Measure20192025
Passengers (thousands)2,1721,957
Flights (thousands)14.312.0
Seats filled86%84%
Gallons of fuel per flight1,1061,210
kg CO2 per passenger7173
CO2 per passenger by airline, 2019 and 2025, Atlanta to TampaBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on Atlanta to Tampa for each major airline in 2019 and in 2025.020406080Delta Air Lines 201969 kgDelta Air Lines 202573 kgSouthwest Airlines 201981 kgSouthwest Airlines 202583 kgSpirit Airlines 201971 kgSpirit Airlines 202564 kg
CO2 per passenger by airline, 2019 and 2025, Atlanta to TampaBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on Atlanta to Tampa for each major airline in 2019 and in 2025.0255075Delta Air Lines 201969 kgDelta Air Lines 202573 kgSouthwest Airlines 201981 kgSouthwest Airlines 202583 kgSpirit Airlines 201971 kgSpirit Airlines 202564 kg
Kilograms of CO2 per passenger on the airlines that flew the route in both years. 2019 figures use that year's filings and estimated aircraft fuel rates, with type-average replacements for missing or outlying filings as described in the methodology. Less is better.

Atlanta to Tampa and back: time in the air

The time in the air is almost the same each way: 63 minutes on average from Atlanta to Tampa and 66 minutes back. A difference of 3 minutes is within what routing and congestion alone produce.

Time in the air by direction, 2025
DirectionAverage minutes in the airFlights
Tampa to Atlanta66.05,992
Atlanta to Tampa62.96,034

Fly or drive

Driving is about 475 miles by road, which we estimate as 1.17 times the straight-line distance. An average car emits about 141 kg of CO2 on the trip, at the EPA figure of 0.297 kg per vehicle-mile. Alone, that's 95% more than the 73 kg for a passenger on the flight.

With 2 people in the car, driving comes out lower per person than the flight (71 kg each, and 35 kg each for four). A larger SUV or pickup (0.394 kg per mile) would emit about 187 kg per vehicle.

CO2 per person by way of travel, Atlanta to TampaBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per person flying, driving or taking the train between Atlanta and Tampa.050100Flight, average73 kgCar, driver alone141 kgCar, 2 people71 kgCar, 4 people35 kg
CO2 per person by way of travel, Atlanta to TampaBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per person flying, driving or taking the train between Atlanta and Tampa.050100Flight, average73 kgCar, driver alone141 kgCar, 2 people71 kgCar, 4 people35 kg
CO2 per person, Atlanta to Tampa. Driving figures divide one car's emissions between the people in it. See flying vs driving for other trip lengths.

Flights are listed under the airline that operates them, so regional flying appears under the regional. How the CO2 and drive figures are worked out is in the methodology.

Routes with shared cities or nearby CO2 per mile

New York to Atlanta124 kg CO2 per passenger over 758 milesAtlanta to Miami96 kg CO2 per passenger over 587 milesAtlanta to Washington, DC104 kg CO2 per passenger over 554 milesAtlanta to Orlando71 kg CO2 per passenger over 404 milesSan Francisco to Las Vegas71 kg CO2 per passenger over 404 milesChicago to Atlanta107 kg CO2 per passenger over 601 milesSan Francisco to San Diego78 kg CO2 per passenger over 436 milesLos Angeles to Salt Lake City106 kg CO2 per passenger over 583 miles

Airports on this route: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Airport and airline references

Source: US Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), T-100 traffic and Schedule T-2 fuel filings; US EPA transport emission factors. See the methodology.

See all routes, or how the airlines compare overall on the airline pages.