What are the Top 10 Busiest Airports in the World

The top-ranking airport carried more than 107 million passengers last year.

Posted on

19 September 2019

| Last updated on 14 January 2020

All Credits: PA

In a result that will please pilots more than environmentalists, 2018 was a bumper year for plane travel.

According to the Annual World Airport Traffic Report, 2019, 8.8 billion passengers successfully caught their flights last year, a 6.4% increase year-over-year, at more than one flight per person in the world.

Here’s everything you need to know about the world’s busiest airports…

America on top

Without further ado, the world’s busiest airport is… Atlanta.

We know, it’s not exactly New York or Tokyo, but for longtime followers of airport analytics, it’s hardly a shock result. Atlanta International has soared above the pack for the last 21 years, boosted this year by a 3.3% increase in total passengers.

A gateway to the North American continent, the state capital of Georgia is within a two-hour flight of 80% of the US, and many of its visitors don’t stay long. The only airport serving its city, 107.4 million people passed through its terminals last year – roughly the population of Spain and Italy combined.

America gobbled up five of the list’s top 20, with Chicago O’Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Denver International snapping up 6th, 15th, and 20th respectively.

Europe is relatively well-represented, with London, Paris and Amsterdam all boasting airports loitering around the number 10 mark. South America, Africa, and Oceania don’t make the list at all.

Asia on the charge

It’s not really a surprise anymore, but the megacities of Asia continued to carve a dominant presence in the top 20, and 12 of the top 30 fastest-growing airports hail from either India or China.

Beijing Capital International and Dubai International retained second and third place on the list, while Tokyo Haneda, Hong Kong International, and Shanghai Pudong secured places in the top 10.

Hong Kong International Airport

If you only count international passengers, Dubai International Airport came top of the table, closely followed by London Heathrow. The fastest-growing airport of them all was Bangalore, India, which recorded a whopping 29% increase.

Here’s the top 10 busiest airports in full:

1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, USA – 107.4 million
2. Beijing Capital International Airport, China – 101 million
3. Dubai International Airport, UAE – 89.1 million
4. Los Angeles International Airport, USA – 87.5 million
5. Tokyo Haneda Airport, Japan – 86.9 million
6. Chicago O’Hare International Airport, USA – 83.2 million

Tokyo Haneda brings a major 2001: A Space Odyssey vibe

7. London Heathrow Airport, UK – 80.1 million
8. Hong Kong International Airport, China – 74.5 million
9. Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China – 74 million
10. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, France – 72.2 million

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