Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more countries have reopened borders, and more airlines have resumed and even expanded services.
As a consequence, airport statistics have been changing a lot in the past few years, and now many terminals are going through a recovery process from lockdowns and travel restrictions.
Certain destinations have been more popular than others, and certain countries have been more or less strict, affecting air traffic.
Airports Council International, an organization of airport authorities based in Canada, has just revealed the top 10 busiest airports in the world.
Experts from the organization have gathered data from 2022, 2021, and 2019 and analyzed global passenger traffic. Compared to 2021, last year’s global traffic increased by 51.7%.
Here’s what travelers should know:
Top 10 Busiest Airports In The World
The top 10 busiest airports represent 10% of global air traffic, and the study has considered domestic and international flights.
These are the airports that had more passengers in transit —national and international— in 2022:
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
Atlanta’s International Airport has remained in first place for the past few years.
A total of 93,699,630 passengers stepped foot on this airport in 2022, 23.8% more than in 2021 but 15.2% less than in 2019.
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
For two years in a row, this airport in Dallas has made it to second place, and this year it received over 73 million passengers.
Compared to 2019, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has gained relevance, as it was in 10th place that year.
3) Denver International Airport (DEN)
This airport, compared to previous years, moved several positions: from 16th place in 2019 to third place in 2021 and 2022.
It is also the airport with the best recovery percentage from 2019 in the United States, as it even improved by 0.4%.
4) Chicago O’Hare International Airport
Chicago’s international airport used to be in 6th place in 2019 and has remained in fourth place globally since 2021.
Last year, over 68,340,000 passengers transited this airport, 26.5% more than in 2021.
5) Dubai International Airport (DXB)
Dubai’s international airport was in position 27 in 2021, and in 2022 it moved to 5th place, with 127% more passengers.
Dubai’s popularity —considered the world’s top tourist destination in 2023— has helped its terminal recover and remains in first place with the most international passengers since 2021.
6) Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Near 69,000,000 passengers enplaned and deplaned in this airport in 2022, 37.3% more than in 2021. Even though traffic has significantly increased, it is still 25.1% lower compared to 2019.
Considering that new infrastructure is in development and new trains will operate by the end of this year, this airport’s recovery has a good forecast.
7) Istanbul Airport (IST)
This airport in Turkey has jumped positions compared to previous years. Istanbul’s International Airport was in place 28 in 2019 and 14 in 2021 and is now in seventh place with over 64 million passengers, 73.8% more than in 2021.
Compared to 2019, it has received 23.2%, improving its recovery since the pandemic, and is expected to be one of the busiest destinations this year.
8) London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
Compared to 2021, this airport significantly improved airport traffic, as 217.7% more passengers visited in 2022.
With over 61 million passengers, Heathrow Airport jumped from position 54 in 2021 to eighth place in 2022.
9) Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)
This airport in New Delhi, India, received almost 60 million travelers in 2022, 60.2% more than it did in 2021.
Even though the Indira Gandhi International Airport’s traffic has improved, it has 13.1% fewer passengers compared to 2019.
10) Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG)
The popular French terminal had 119.4% more passengers in 2022 compared to 2021.
It made it to the 10th position for hosting over 57 million travelers last year.
