Once again – and perhaps unsurprisingly – Atlanta reigns supreme as the world’s busiest airport.
In 2022, approximately 93.7 million people traveled through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), a 23.8% increase in passenger traffic from 2021, according to a report released by the Airports Council International.
Atlanta was the busiest airport for 22 consecutive years until it lost the title to China’s Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) in 2020 due to the pandemic. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Chinese airports took seven of the top 10 rankings.
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However, Atlanta regained its status as the world’s busiest airport in 2021.
As in 2021, US airports dominated this year’s rankings, accounting for half of the ACI list. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Denver International Airport (DEN) took second and third place, respectively.
Dallas Fort Worth saw about 73 million passengers last year, while Denver had 69 million passengers. The other two US airports on the list are Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD), which is at No. 4, and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), at No. 6 on the list.
US airports have dominated the ACI rankings for the past two years due to a rebound in domestic travel that has come faster than other regions.
However, international airports gained ground in 2022, accounting for half of the top 10. Last year, US airports took eight of the 10 slots in the ACI report.
London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR), Dubai International Airport (DBX), Istanbul Airport (IST), Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) also made the list, marking a recovery in international travel, which lags far behind domestic travel.
“While US airport hubs have recovered more quickly due to their strong domestic market, we are now witnessing global hubs joining the top ranks,” said Luis Felipe de Oliveira, director general at ACI World.
Travel is still reaching pre-pandemic levels, but US airline CEOs expect strong demand for travel to continue through 2023. The only airport on the list with more passengers in 2022 than in 2019 is Denver.
“As we continue to move cautiously amid multiple headwinds that could impact the speed and scale of global air traffic recovery, the latest rankings represent an important milestone in reaching pre-pandemic levels,” added de Oliveira.
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