Air travel has become the second most common form of private transportation. And every plane travel starts at an airport. There are now over 40,000 airports in the world. Curious to find out which of these belong to the ten most busiest airports on the planet?
The following list will show you.
The 10 Busiest Airports in the World:
1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
110.5 million passengers
Based in: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Established in: 1926
IATA Code: ATL
Airline hub for: Delta Air Lines
The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has been the world’s busiest airport for quite some time now, since 1998 to be exact. 2019 was no exception. With a total of around 110.5 million passengers flying from or to Atlanta, the airport in the US state of Georgia successfully defended its two-decades long status as the world’s most important airport. The airport is not only important as a destination airport, but even more important as a hub airport that connects the United States with the rest of the Americas and vice versa.
2. Beijing Capital International Airport
100.0 million passengers
Based in: Beijing, Municipality of Beijing, China
Established in: 1958
IATA Code: PEK
Airline hub for: Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines
No other country in the world has built and renovated as many airports during the last two decades as China has. The country’s biggest airport, the Beijing Capital International Airport, has been renovated and extended in 2008 for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It has been Asia’s biggest and busiest airport ever since. With around exactly 100 million passengers flying to or from China’s capital airport, it was number 2 among the world’s busiest airports last year. Yet for the capital city’s needs, this is still not enough. Therefore a new airport is set to open later this year, which is supposed to accommodate 72 million passengers by 2025 and eventually even more than 100 million passengers by 2040.
3. Los Angeles International Airport
88.1 million passengers
Based in: Los Angeles, California, USA
Established in: 1930
IATA Code: LAX
Airline hub for: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines
The city of Hollywood, stars and glamour is also home to America’s second busiest airport and at the same time to the fourth busiest airport in the world. LA’s airport saw 88.1 million passengers come and go in 2019. The airport is, at that, not only important as a destination airport, but also plays a big role as a hub airport, especially for flights to and from East Asia.
4. Dubai International Airport
86.4 million passengers
Based in: Dubai, Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Established in: 1960
IATA Code: DXB
Airline hub for: Fly Emirates, flydubai
Dubai over the last few decades has grown into a global city of importance, both in terms of tourism and economy. The largest city in the relatively small United Arab Emirates attracts tourists and expats from all around the world. No wonder that the city’s airport is now the third busiest airport on Earth. Around 86.4 million passengers flied to or from Dubai in 2019.
5. Tokyo Haneda Airport
85.5 million passengers
Based in: Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Established in: 1931
IATA Code: HND
Airline hub for: Air Do, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Skymark Airlines, Solaseed Air, StarFlyer
For a long time the most important airport on the Asian continent, Tokyo’s Haneda Airport is “only” the third busiest airport in Asia these days, but still fifth among the busiest airports in the world. With around 85.5 million passengers having used the airport in 2019, the airport has fallen slightly behind Los Angeles and Dubai in terms of numbers of passengers now.
6. O’Hare International Airport
84.4 million passengers
Based in: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Established in: 1944
IATA Code: ORD
Airline hub for: American Airlines, United Airlines
7. London Heathrow Airport
80.8 million passengers
Based in: London, England, UK
Established in: 1929
IATA Code: LHR
Airline hub for: British Airways
8. Shanghai Pudong International Airport
76.2 million passengers
Based in: Shanghai, Municipality of Shanghai, China
Established in: 1999
IATA Code: PVG
Airline hub for: Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Juneyao Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Spring Airlines
9. Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport
76.1 million passengers
Based in: Roissy-en-France, Ile-de-France, France
Established in: 1974
IATA Code: CDG
Airline hub for: Air France
10. Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport
75.1 million passengers
Based in: Dallas, Texas, USA
Established in: 1973
IATA Code: DFW
Airline hub for: American Airlines, Ameriflight
The 10 Busiest Airports in the World
(at a glance)
(Based on data for 2019)
| Top 10 Busiest Airports in the World 2020: |
|---|
| 1. HARTSFIELD-JACKSON ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Atlanta, Georgia, USA 110.5 million passengers |
| 2. BEIJING CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Beijing, Municipality of Beijing, China 100.0 million passengers |
| 3. LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Los Angeles, California, USA 88.1 million passengers |
| 4. DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Dubai, Emirate of Dubai, UAE 86.4 million passengers |
| 5. TOKYO HANEDA AIRPORT Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan 85.5 million passengers |
| 6. O’HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Chicago, Illinois, USA 84.4 million passengers |
| 7. LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT London, England, UK 80.8 million passengers |
| 8. SHANGHAI PUDONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Shanghai, Municipality of Shanghai, China 76.2 million passengers |
| 9. PARIS-CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT Roissy-en-France, Ile-de-France, France 76.1 million passengers |
| 10. DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Dallas, Texas, USA 75.1 million passengers |