The world's busiest airports by passenger traffic are measured by total passengers (data from
Airports Council International
Airports Council International (ACI) is an organization of airport authorities aimed at unifying industry practices for airport standards. Established in 1991, its headquarters (ACI World) are based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and its member ...
), defined as passengers enplaned plus passengers deplaned plus direct-transit passengers.
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , also known as Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport, Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield, Hartsfield–Jackson and, formerly, as the Atlanta Municipal Airport, is the primary internatio ...
has held the top spot as the world's busiest airport each year since 1998, except for 2020, when it was temporarily unseated by
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport due to the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta regained the top position in 2021.
Alternatively,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
has the
world's busiest city airport system by passenger count.
As of 2021, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
accounts for the top seven busiest airports in the world, and 10 of the top 12 positions. Six countries have at least two airports in the top 50, with the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
at 20 and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
at 13,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
with three; and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
, and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
with two airports each.
In terms of regions,
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
has 22 airports in the top 50, followed by
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...
at 16,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
at seven,
West Asia at three, and
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
each have one.
Graph for the first 10
2021 statistics
Source: 2021 report from the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
2020 statistics
Source: 2020 report from the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
2019 statistics
Figures as reported by airports are as follows:
2018 statistics
Figures as reported by airports are as follows:
2017 statistics
Airports Council International
Airports Council International (ACI) is an organization of airport authorities aimed at unifying industry practices for airport standards. Established in 1991, its headquarters (ACI World) are based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and its member ...
's full-year figures are as follows:
2016 statistics
Airports Council International
Airports Council International (ACI) is an organization of airport authorities aimed at unifying industry practices for airport standards. Established in 1991, its headquarters (ACI World) are based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and its member ...
's full-year figures are as follows:
2010–2015
2000–2009
See also
*
List of the busiest airports
The definition of world's busiest airport has been specified by the Airports Council International in Montreal, Canada. The ACI defines and measures the following three types of airport traffic:
*Passenger traffic: total passengers emplaned and de ...
*
List of busiest airports by international passenger traffic
*
List of busiest airports by aircraft movements
*
Busiest airports by continent
The busiest airports by continent is based on the busiest airports in all continents except Antarctica and Oceania.
Busiest airports in Europe, 2020
Busiest airports in Asia, 2018
Busiest airports in North America, 2020
Busiest ai ...
References
External links
Airports Council International Statistics and Data CentreAviation database with passenger traffic of over 1900 airports
{{List of airports
Passenger traffic