Air is the safest, quickest, and most effective transport mode. According to Statista, airlines and airports are continuously growing busier, with the number of flights worldwide hitting 38.9 million in 2019 from 25.9 million in 2009.
When sorted by passenger traffic (the number of persons using the airport at a particular time), the following are the world’s ten busiest airports by passenger traffic:
- Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport – 110,531,300
- Beijing Capital International Airport – 100,011,438
- Los Angeles International Airport – 88,068,013
- Dubai International Airport – 86,396,757
- Tokyo Haneda Airport – 85,505,054
- O’Hare International Airport – 84,372,618
- Heathrow Airport – 80,888,305
- Shanghai Pudong International Airport – 76,153,455
- Charles de Gaulle Airport – 76,150,009
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport – 75,066,956
Table of Contents
1. Hartsfield – Jackson Atlanta International Airport, United States

Atlanta Airport was the universe busiest in the world every year between 1998 and 2019, carrying over 110 million people in 2019. It is situated 11 kilometers south of Atlanta and is the city’s principal international airport.
ATL encompasses 19.2 square kilometers and has 5 runways. It is Delta Air Lines’ principal hub.
Delta hub is the world’s biggest airline hub, with over 1,000 daily flights to 225 destinations. Also, ATL provides worldwide services on all continents. The airport is also an international gateway to the US, ranking 7th by foreign passenger volume.
2. Beijing Capital International Airport, China

Beijing Capital International Airport is situated 32 kilometers away from Beijing. It is Asia’s busiest airport by passenger volume and has been the world’s 2nd busiest since 2010.
In 2012, it logged approximately 557,000 aircraft movements, the world’s 6th highest.
In 2019, Beijing Capital serviced nearly 100 million passengers. Beijing is China’s capital and the second-most populated city after Shanghai. It also links China to the rest of the planet.
Read Also: Top 10 Busiest Airports In The United States
3. Los Angeles International Airport, United States

LAX mainly serves Los Angeles and the surrounding area. Los Angeles is the US’s second-most populated metropolis and North America’s third, with over 4 million residents.
The international airport is situated 30 kilometers southwest of the CBD, notably in the Westchester district. In 2019, LAX serviced 88.1 million passengers.
It is a significant entry point into the US and a linking point to different destinations internationally. The airport covers 14 square kilometers and has 4 runways.
4. Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates

DXB is mainly a Dubai-based airline that services the United Arab Emirates. It is the world’s 4th main airport by passenger numbers and ranks first by international traffic. In 2019, the airport served 86.4 million passengers.
DXB is situated in the Al Garhoud district, roughly 4.5 kilometers east of Dubai, and covers 29 square kilometers of land.
It is a hub for Emirates Airlines, Middle East’s biggest airline hub. In 2018, roughly 68 percent of the passengers that utilized the airport were connected to other destinations. Dubai is also a popular tourist and retail destination, as well as expatriates.
5. Tokyo Haneda Airport, Japan

Haneda Airport is one of the two major international airports servicing the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. It is home to All Nippon Airways and Japan Carriers, as well as other foreign airlines. HDN is situated around 15 kilometers distant from Tokyo Station, near Ota.
In 2019, it serviced approximately 85.5 million people, earning it the world’s fifth-busiest airport by passenger numbers. The airport handles practically all domestic flights from and to Tokyo and provides nonstop connections to 17 countries. Tokyo is the world’s most populated metropolis.
6. O’Hare International Airport, United States

O’Hara is situated 23 kilometers west of Downtown Chicago and encompasses 30.87 square kilometers. It is the US’s 3rd busiest in the world, handling 84.4 million passengers in 2019. As of 2018, the airport operated 228 nonstop flights to all the continent, including Oceania.
In 2019, it serviced 919,704 aircraft, an average of 2,520 daily. O’Hare is a significant hub for American Airlines and United Airlines. The jet airliners had a crucial role in pushing traffic to O’Hare.
7. Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom

Heathrow Airport is the busiest airport in Europe in terms of passenger volume. It is the world’s second busiest airport by international traffic. In 2019, Heathrow Airport served around 80 million passengers and reported over 475,000 aircraft movements.
It serves the London area, one of the world’s most populated regions. Heathrow Airport is situated 23 kilometers west of Central London and is British Airway’s principal hub.
8. Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China

Pudong Airports is the world’s 8th biggest airport by both land area and passenger volume. It occupies 39.9 square kilometers. It serviced 76.1 million people in 2019 and is East Asia’s primary aviation hub, providing largely international routes to and from the area.
Shanghai Airlines and China Eastern Airlines use it as their primary and secondary hubs, respectively. It is also mainland China’s international gateway.
9. Charles De Gaulle Airport, France

Charles de Gaulle Airport is France’s biggest international airport, situated inside Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-d’Oise, and Seine-et-Marne. It is Air France’s key hub and a destination for major airlines such as Sky Team and Star Alliance.
In 2019, the airport serviced over 76 million passengers and supported the transit of roughly 498,175 planes. The airport’s high traffic is primarily due to the many direct flights it provides to most nations.
10. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, United States

The US is home to four of the ten world’s biggest airports by passenger volume, including Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The nation has the biggest number of airline users. In 2019, the US-registered over 926 million air passengers.
On average, 2.5 million individuals fly into, out of, or within the US. It also boasts the biggest aircraft fleet, with around 6,703 fleets of aircraft.
List of the Top 50 Busiest Airports In The World
Rank | Airport | Total passengers (2019) | Location | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport | 110,531,300 | Atlanta, Georgia | United States |
2 | Beijing Capital International Airport | 100,011,438 | Chaoyang-Shunyi, Beijing | China |
3 | Los Angeles International Airport | 88,068,013 | Los Angeles, California | United States |
4 | Dubai International Airport | 86,396,757 | Garhoud, Dubai | United Arab Emirates |
5 | Tokyo Haneda Airport | 85,505,054 | ÅŒta, Tokyo | Japan |
6 | O’Hare International Airport | 84,372,618 | Chicago, Illinois | United States |
7 | Heathrow Airport | 80,888,305 | Hillingdon, London | United Kingdom |
8 | Shanghai Pudong International Airport | 76,153,455 | Pudong, Shanghai | China |
9 | Charles de Gaulle Airport | 76,150,009 | Roissy-en-France, ÃŽle-de-France | France |
10 | Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport | 75,066,956 | Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas | United States |
11 | Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport | 73,378,475 | Baiyun-Huadu, Guangzhou, Guangdong | China |
12 | Amsterdam Airport Schiphol | 71,706,999 | Haarlemmermeer, North Holland | Netherlands |
13 | Hong Kong International Airport | 71,415,245 | Chek Lap Kok, New Territories | Hong Kong SAR, China |
14 | Seoul Incheon International Airport | 71,204,153 | Incheon | South Korea |
15 | Frankfurt Airport | 70,556,072 | Frankfurt, Hesse | Germany |
16 | Denver International Airport | 69,015,703 | Denver, Colorado | United States |
17 | Indira Gandhi International Airport | 68,490,731 | Delhi | India |
18 | Singapore Changi Airport | 68,283,000 | Changi, East Region | Singapore |
19 | Suvarnabhumi Airport | 65,421,844 | Bang Phli, Samut Prakan | Thailand |
20 | John F. Kennedy International Airport | 62,551,072 | Queens, New York, New York | United States |
21 | Kuala Lumpur International Airport | 62,336,469 | Sepang, Selangor | Malaysia |
22 | Madrid Barajas Airport | 61,707,469 | Barajas, Madrid | Spain |
23 | San Francisco International Airport | 57,418,574 | San Mateo County, California | United States |
24 | Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport | 55,858,552 | Shuangliu-Wuhou, Chengdu, Sichuan | China |
25 | Soekarno–Hatta International Airport | 54,496,625 | Tangerang, Banten | Indonesia |
26 | Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport | 52,931,925 | Bao’an, Shenzhen, Guangdong | China |
27 | Barcelona–El Prat Airport | 52,663,623 | Barcelona | Spain |
28 | Istanbul Airport | 52,192,629 | Arnavutköy, Istanbul | Turkey |
29 | Seattle–Tacoma International Airport | 51,829,239 | SeaTac, Washington | United States |
30 | McCarran International Airport | 51,691,066 | Las Vegas, Nevada | United States |
31 | Orlando International Airport | 50,613,072 | Orlando, Florida | United States |
32 | Toronto Pearson International Airport | 50,496,804 | Mississauga, Ontario | Canada |
33 | Benito Juárez International Airport | 50,308,049 | Venustiano Carranza, Mexico City | Mexico |
34 | Charlotte Douglas International Airport | 50,168,783 | Charlotte, North Carolina | United States |
35 | Sheremetyevo International Airport | 49,932,752 | Khimki, Moscow Oblast | Russia |
36 | Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport | 48,689,372 | Dayuan, Taoyuan | Taiwan |
37 | Kunming Changshui International Airport | 48,076,238 | Guandu, Kunming, Yunnan | China |
38 | Munich Airport | 47,941,348 | Freising, Bavaria | Germany |
39 | Ninoy Aquino International Airport | 47,898,046 | Pasay/Parañaque, Metro Manila | Philippines |
40 | Xi’an Xianyang International Airport | 47,220,547 | Weicheng, Xianyang, Shaanxi | China |
41 | Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport | 47,055,740 | Mumbai, Maharashtra | India |
42 | London Gatwick Airport | 46,576,473 | Crawley, West Sussex | United Kingdom |
43 | Newark Liberty International Airport | 46,336,452 | Newark, New Jersey | United States |
44 | Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport | 46,287,790 | Phoenix, Arizona | United States |
45 | Miami International Airport | 45,924,466 | Miami-Dade County, Florida | United States |
46 | Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport | 45,637,882 | Changning-Minhang, Shanghai | China |
47 | George Bush Intercontinental Airport | 44,990,399 | Houston, Texas | United States |
48 | Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport | 44,786,722 | Yubei, Chongqing | China |
49 | Sydney Kingsford-Smith Airport | 44,446,838 | Mascot, New South Wales | Australia |
50 | Narita International Airport | 44,340,847 | Narita, Chiba | Japan |