Top 10 Busiest Airports In The World

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

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

RankAirportTotal passengers (2019)LocationCountry
1Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport110,531,300Atlanta, GeorgiaUnited States
2Beijing Capital International Airport100,011,438Chaoyang-Shunyi, BeijingChina
3Los Angeles International Airport88,068,013Los Angeles, CaliforniaUnited States
4Dubai International Airport86,396,757Garhoud, DubaiUnited Arab Emirates
5Tokyo Haneda Airport85,505,054ÅŒta, TokyoJapan
6O’Hare International Airport84,372,618Chicago, IllinoisUnited States
7Heathrow Airport80,888,305Hillingdon, LondonUnited Kingdom
8Shanghai Pudong International Airport76,153,455Pudong, ShanghaiChina
9Charles de Gaulle Airport76,150,009Roissy-en-France, ÃŽle-de-FranceFrance
10Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport75,066,956Dallas-Fort Worth, TexasUnited States
11Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport73,378,475Baiyun-Huadu, Guangzhou, GuangdongChina
12Amsterdam Airport Schiphol71,706,999Haarlemmermeer, North HollandNetherlands
13Hong Kong International Airport71,415,245Chek Lap Kok, New TerritoriesHong Kong SAR, China
14Seoul Incheon International Airport71,204,153IncheonSouth Korea
15Frankfurt Airport70,556,072Frankfurt, HesseGermany
16Denver International Airport69,015,703Denver, ColoradoUnited States
17Indira Gandhi International Airport68,490,731DelhiIndia
18Singapore Changi Airport68,283,000Changi, East RegionSingapore
19Suvarnabhumi Airport65,421,844Bang Phli, Samut PrakanThailand
20John F. Kennedy International Airport62,551,072Queens, New York, New YorkUnited States
21Kuala Lumpur International Airport62,336,469Sepang, SelangorMalaysia
22Madrid Barajas Airport61,707,469Barajas, MadridSpain
23San Francisco International Airport57,418,574San Mateo County, CaliforniaUnited States
24Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport55,858,552Shuangliu-Wuhou, Chengdu, SichuanChina
25Soekarno–Hatta International Airport54,496,625Tangerang, BantenIndonesia
26Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport52,931,925Bao’an, Shenzhen, GuangdongChina
27Barcelona–El Prat Airport52,663,623BarcelonaSpain
28Istanbul Airport52,192,629Arnavutköy, IstanbulTurkey
29Seattle–Tacoma International Airport51,829,239SeaTac, WashingtonUnited States
30McCarran International Airport51,691,066Las Vegas, NevadaUnited States
31Orlando International Airport50,613,072Orlando, FloridaUnited States
32Toronto Pearson International Airport50,496,804Mississauga, OntarioCanada
33Benito Juárez International Airport50,308,049Venustiano Carranza, Mexico CityMexico
34Charlotte Douglas International Airport50,168,783Charlotte, North CarolinaUnited States
35Sheremetyevo International Airport49,932,752Khimki, Moscow OblastRussia
36Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport48,689,372Dayuan, TaoyuanTaiwan
37Kunming Changshui International Airport48,076,238Guandu, Kunming, YunnanChina
38Munich Airport47,941,348Freising, BavariaGermany
39Ninoy Aquino International Airport47,898,046Pasay/Parañaque, Metro ManilaPhilippines
40Xi’an Xianyang International Airport47,220,547Weicheng, Xianyang, ShaanxiChina
41Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport47,055,740Mumbai, MaharashtraIndia
42London Gatwick Airport46,576,473Crawley, West SussexUnited Kingdom
43Newark Liberty International Airport46,336,452Newark, New JerseyUnited States
44Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport46,287,790Phoenix, ArizonaUnited States
45Miami International Airport45,924,466Miami-Dade County, FloridaUnited States
46Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport45,637,882Changning-Minhang, ShanghaiChina
47George Bush Intercontinental Airport44,990,399Houston, TexasUnited States
48Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport44,786,722Yubei, ChongqingChina
49Sydney Kingsford-Smith Airport44,446,838Mascot, New South WalesAustralia
50Narita International Airport44,340,847Narita, ChibaJapan




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