A list of the world’s busiest airports in 2023 highlights some surprising hubs overtaking traditional high-traffic international airports as global air travel reached almost 94 per cent recovery.
With the global total passenger forecast at 8.5 billion for 2023, new Airports Council International (ACI) World data shows some Asia-Pacific and Middle East hubs gained ground in 2023.
Contributing factors include the anticipation of China’s reopening and international travel demand despite global macroeconomic conditions.
International traffic recovery drew close to domestic traffic levels with 36.5 per cent growth on 2022, emphasising its essential role in the sector’s resurgence and expansion.
The world’s busiest airports
The top 10 busiest airports propelled almost 10 per cent of all global traffic, representing 806 million passengers, with five US airports making it onto the 2023 list.
Tokyo Haneda Airport recorded the biggest jump at number five up from 16th in 2022 with 78 million-plus passengers, up 55.1 per cent against 2022.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) leapfrogged into second place for the first time with almost 87 million pax, overtaking Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) in third position.
DXB also recorded the highest international traffic for the third consecutive year, followed by London Heathrow, Amsterdam Schipol, Paris and Singapore in the top five.
New Delhi also recorded a significant increase, nabbing the 10th spot on the total passenger traffic list with a 21.4 per cent rise on 2022 pax levels and up 5.4 per cent on pre-pandemic numbers.
Coming in at number one, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport held the top rank with more than 104 million passengers in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 11.7 per cent, and more than 775,000 aircraft movements.
Rounding out the top 10 busiest airports for total global passengers in 2023 are London Heathrow (4), Denver (6), Istanbul (7), LAX (8) and Chicago O’Hare (9).
Read the full list here.
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