For 26 out of 27 years, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport (ATL) has been the world’s busiest airport.
The Georgia airport, residence base and megahub of Delta Air Strains, as soon as once more claimed the highest spot in Airports Council Worldwide’s annual rankings of the world’s busiest airports in 2024.
ATL noticed greater than 108,000 passengers in 2024 — a bounce of simply over 3% from 2023.
Its prime rating got here as ACI reported a record-setting variety of whole airline passengers globally in 2024: shut to five billion vacationers. This quantity is up 9% over the prior 12 months and up almost 4% over prepandemic 2019 ranges.
That every one-time mark wasn’t an enormous shock within the U.S., the place every of the Transportation Safety Administration’s 10 busiest days at airport safety checkpoints got here in 2024. That included greater than 3 million passengers touring Dec. 1, 2024 — the busiest day ever at U.S. airports.
Following Atlanta in a distant second place was Dubai Worldwide Airport (DXB). The airport, residence to Emirates, noticed greater than 92 million passengers in one other runner-up 12 months for the Persian Gulf hub.
Three different U.S. airports ranked among the many world’s 10 busiest, per ACI.
Dallas Fort Price Worldwide Airport (DFW) was third within the rankings, Denver Worldwide Airport (DEN) completed sixth and O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD) was eighth.
What’s the busiest airport on the planet?
This is the total rundown of the world’s 10 busiest airports:
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| Rank | Airport | 2024 passengers | 2023 rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport (ATL) | 108,067,766 | 1 |
| 2 | Dubai Worldwide Airport (DXB) | 92,331,506 | 2 |
| 3 | Dallas Fort Price Worldwide Airport (DFW) | 87,817,864 | 3 |
| 4 | Haneda Airport (HND) | 85,900,617 | 5 |
| 5 | Heathrow Airport (LHR) | 83,884,572 | 4 |
| 6 | Denver Worldwide Airport (DEN) | 82,358,744 | 6 |
| 7 | Istanbul Airport (IST) | 80,073,252 | 7 |
| 8 | O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD) | 80,043,050 | 9 |
| 9 | Delhi Indira Gandhi Worldwide Airport (DEL) | 77,820,834 | 10 |
| 10 | Shanghai Pudong Worldwide Airport (PVG) | 76,878,039 | 21 |
A lot of the above listing regarded just like the 2023 rankings however with some notable shifts.
The most important change was Shanghai Pudong Worldwide Airport — it catapulted from the world’s Twenty first-busiest airport in 2023 to a top-10 spot in 2024. Air journey to and from the area lastly rebounded in a giant method following the height coronavirus pandemic.
Shanghai had been the world’s eighth-busiest airport in 2019.
In the meantime, a notable airport not listed among the many world’s 10 busiest was Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX). The airport got here in at No. 8 in 2023 and had been ranked because the world’s third-busiest airport simply 4 years earlier.
Extra progress forward for ORD
LAX had ranked forward of ORD in 2023, however the Chicago airport — a hub for each United Airways and American Airways — leapfrogged the Southern California airport in 2024.
It is value noting that ORD was on monitor to see extra progress this 12 months, with the whole variety of seats deliberate for this summer time set to rise almost 11% over final summer time, in line with knowledge from aviation analytics agency Cirium.
Busiest airports in America, ranked
Based mostly on the above knowledge, America’s 4 busiest airports in 2024 had been:
1. ATL
2. DFW
3. DEN
4. ORD
Wanting forward
In its report, ACI projected whole world passenger boarding may rise almost 5% extra in 2025, which might imply one other record-setting 12 months.
Nevertheless, looming uncertainty over journey demand may throw these projections right into a state of flux.
ACI’s 2024 air journey report additionally ranked the ten busiest airports on the planet for worldwide passengers.
DXB took the highest spot, adopted by LHR. Incheon Worldwide Airport (ICN) in South Korea, Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) rounded out the highest 5.
No U.S. airport made the highest 10 for worldwide passengers.
A milestone for Atlanta
ATL’s world rating coincides with a milestone. The airport — similar to its prime airline Delta — is celebrating its one centesimal birthday this 12 months.
It is residence to maybe the world’s nicest American Categorical Centurion Lounge and a not too long ago opened Delta Sky Membership.
If you happen to’re caught there on a layover, be sure you try the newly renovated Delta Flight Museum, which is a brief, five-minute trip from the terminals.
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