Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) again topped the Airports Council International (ACI) World’s top 10 busiest airports worldwide list in 2022, serving 93.7 million passengers, an increase of 23.8%) was once again the world’s busiest airport in 2022. Three other U.S. airports also were in the top five: Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW) served 73.4 million passengers, up 17.5%; Denver International Airport (DEN) had 69.3 million passengers, an increase of 17.8%; and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) gained 26.5% to 68.3 million passengers.
Dubai Airport (DXB), was the only non-U.S. airport in the top five. It served 66.1 million passengers last year, a 127% increase.
ACI World preliminary figures show that with resumption of international travel last year, global travel was slightly less than 7 billion, up 53.5 percent from 2021, though still only 73.8 percent of the 2019, the pre-pandemic peak in global travel.
The remaining top 10 airports were Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Istanbul Airport (IST), London Heathrow Airport (LHR), Delhi Airport (DEL), and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG).Together the top 10 airports accounted for 10% of global traffic.
“The new top 10 busiest airports for passenger traffic reflects the resilience of the airport and aviation industry, and the eagerness of passengers to travel by air,” said ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira. “While U.S. airport hubs were able to recover quicker due to their strong domestic market, we are now witnessing global hubs joining upper ranks—including Dubai, Istanbul, and London Heathrow airport.”
He added: “The re-opening of China, the second largest aviation market after the US, is now expected to bring an overall gain, both domestically and for international travel.”
On the air cargo side, volumes decreased last year by 6.7% to slightly less than 17 million metric tons. Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) remained at the top of the cargo list with 4.2 million metric tons handled. , followed by Memphis International Airport (MEM), Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) and Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG).
