The ranking of the busiest airports in the world based on 2023 traffic is out, and there are some winners and losers. Here are the top 5 airports based on passenger traffic, according to Airports Council International World.
Atlanta
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with its Delta Air Lines hub has been the world’s busiest airport based on passenger counts nearly every year since 1998. The only exception was 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Atlanta airport was briefly surpassed by an airport in Guangzhou, China.
In 2023, the Atlanta airport handled 104.7 million passengers, up 11.7% year-over-year.
Dubai
Dubai International Airport jumped to the No. 2 position in 2023, from No. 5 the previous year with a huge 31.7% increase in passenger counts.
The airport is the hub of Emirates airlines, connecting passengers around the world with its location in the Middle East between Asia, Europe and Africa.
Dubai handled nearly 87 million passengers in 2023.
Dallas/Fort Worth
Dallas/Fort Worth, home to American Airlines’ hub, fell to the No. 3 spot in 2023, from No. 2 the previous year.
Along with Dallas Love Field, DFW is one of two commercial airports in the Dallas area, and has significantly more land than Atlanta’s airport. While Hartsfield-Jackson occupies 4,700 acres, DFW has more than three times the land with 17,183 acres.
DFW handled 81.8 million passengers in 2023, up 11.4% year-over-year.
London Heathrow
Heathrow is the main international airport serving London, England, a banking and financial capital of the world. It’s the hub of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
Heathrow jumped to the No. 4 spot last year, up from No. 8 the previous year.
LHR handled 79.2 million passengers in 2023, up 28.5% year-over-year.
Tokyo Haneda
Tokyo Haneda International Airport jumped to the No. 5 busiest airport in the world in 2023, up from No. 16 the previous year, with an enormous 55.1% increase in traffic.
Haneda has expanded over the years, including growth by Delta, which shifted from its hub at Tokyo’s Narita airport and added flights at Haneda.
Haneda handled 78.7 million passengers in 2023.
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