U.S. airlines carried 52.6 million passengers in January, up 1.5 percent from January 2009, the federal government reported today.The increase in passengers came despite a 2 percent drop in the number of flights the nation’s airlines operated, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics said.

Delta Air Lines carried the most passengers  7.89 million. Last January, prior to completing its merger with Northwest Airlines, Delta ranked third behind Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, which were the second and third-busiest airlines this January.US Airways, the busiest airline at Pittsburgh International Airport, carried the fifth most passengers among U.S. airlines, with nearly 3.9 million.