List of the busiest airports

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Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, the busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic and aircraft movements ATL Terminal T and A 2018.jpg
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, the busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic and aircraft movements

This list of the busiest airports includes the world's busiest airports by a range of criteria. The criteria are specified by the Airports Council International (ACI) in Montreal, Canada. [1] The ACI defines and measures the following four types of airport traffic: passenger traffic, international passenger traffic, cargo traffic and aircraft movements. [2]

Contents

Busiest airport by traffic type

Busiest airport by passenger traffic

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , Georgia, United States has been the busiest airport by passenger traffic since 2021. [2] [3] [4] It was also the busiest airport from 1998-2019, only missing out in 2020 when it was passed by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China. [5] Passenger traffic is defined by the ACI as the total passengers embarked and disembarked, but passengers in transit are only counted once. [6]

Busiest airport by international passenger traffic

Dubai International Airport, the busiest airport by international passenger traffic Airbus A340-642X, Virgin Atlantic Airways AN1204296.jpg
Dubai International Airport, the busiest airport by international passenger traffic

Dubai International Airport , Dubai, United Arab Emirates has served the most international passengers annually since 2014. [2] [7]

Busiest airport by aircraft movements

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport also tops the list for total aircraft movements, defined by the ACI as total landings and takeoffs. [2] [8] It has topped the list since 2015. [9]

Busiest airport by cargo traffic

Hong Kong International Airport , New Territories, Hong Kong is the busiest by cargo traffic and has held the top spot since 2022. [2] Previously, from 2020 to 2021, Memphis International Airport was the busiest cargo airport in the world. [10] The busiest airport by cargo traffic is defined by the ACI as the airport which has handled the most loaded and unloaded freight and mail, by mass. [11]

Busiest city destination

The Airports of London combined make London, United Kingdom the busiest city destination. The city transports the most passengers annually across all of its airports, and has been the busiest city destination since 2010. [12]

Busiest airport by continent

Cairo International Airport, the busiest airport in Africa 2017-09-14-056sams4.jpg
Cairo International Airport, the busiest airport in Africa

Busiest airport in Africa

Cairo International Airport in Egypt has been the busiest airport in Africa since 2020.

By country

Busiest airport in Asia

Dubai International Airport, the busiest airport in Asia Emirates - B777-31H(ER) - Raihan Bakhsh.jpg
Dubai International Airport, the busiest airport in Asia

Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates is the busiest airport in Asia.

By region

By country

Busiest airport in Europe

London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 serving London, United Kingdom, the busiest airport in Europe Heathrow T5.jpg
London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 serving London, United Kingdom, the busiest airport in Europe

London Heathrow Airport , London, United Kingdom is the busiest airport in Europe.

By region

By country

Busiest airport in North America

Aerial view of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the busiest airport in North America ATL(1) (cropped).jpg
Aerial view of Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the busiest airport in North America

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Georgia, United States is the busiest airport in North America.

By region

By country

Busiest airport in Oceania

Sydney Airport, the busiest airport in Oceania At Sydney Airport Terminal 3 in December 2022, 13.jpg
Sydney Airport, the busiest airport in Oceania

Sydney Airport , Australia is the busiest airport in Oceania as of 2017.

By country

Busiest airport in South America

El Dorado International Airport in Bogota, the busiest airport in South America El Dorado Aiport.JPG
El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, the busiest airport in South America

El Dorado International Airport , Bogotá, Colombia is the busiest airport in South America as of 2022.

By region

By country

Historical claims

In the late 1940s, Chicago Midway was the busiest airport in the United States by total aircraft operations – i.e., including every training aircraft practicing take-offs and landings. [13] New York LaGuardia had the most airline operations and passengers until the early 1950s, when Chicago Midway became the busiest airport in the United States by any criterion. Before World War II, Chicago Midway was the origin or destination of one in four U.S. airline flights, [14] although a 1939 Official Aviation Guide shows more airline flights scheduled at Newark than at Chicago.[ citation needed ]
As the home of FedEx Express, Memphis had the largest cargo operations worldwide from 1993 to 2009. It remains the busiest cargo airport in the United States and the Western Hemisphere. [15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Airports Welcome Record 4.4 Billion Passengers in 2006". Airports Council International. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "The busiest airports in the world defy global uncertainty and hold top rankings". Airports Council International. 14 April 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  3. ↑ Hinz, Greg (26 January 2017). "World's busiest airport title slips further from O'Hare's grasp". Crain's Chicago Business . Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "The top 10 busiest airports in the world revealed". ACI World. Airports Council International. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  5. ↑ Kawase, Kenji (25 January 2021). "China's Guangzhou airport crowns itself the world's busiest for 2020". Nikkei Asia . Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  6. ↑ "Passenger Traffic 2007 Preliminary". Airports Council International. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  7. ↑ "Heathrow airport overtaken by Dubai as world's busiest". The Guardian . 31 December 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Traffic Movements 2007 Preliminary". Airports Council International. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  9. ↑ Cripps, Karla (4 April 2016). "World's busiest airports announced". CNN. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "World Airport Rankings 2010 from Airports Council International". Airports Council International. 2011. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  11. ↑ "Cargo Traffic 2007 Preliminary". Airports Council International. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  12. ↑ "Beijing to overtake London as world's largest aviation hub". CAPA. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  13. ↑ American Aviation 15 Mar 1947, 15 Mar 1948, 15 Apr 1949, 15 Apr 1950
  14. ↑ Mullins, Michelle (18 July 1999). "Region leads the way in flight". Archived from the original on 19 December 2002. Retrieved 7 March 2008.
  15. ↑ "Table 2 – TOTAL CARGO TRAFFIC 2013 – Preliminary World Airport Traffic and Rankings 2013 – High Growth Dubai Moves Up to 7th Busiest Airport – Mar 31, 2014". Airports Council International. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
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