An increase in international air travel has caused new airports, compared to those in 2022, to be crowned as the top ten busiest airports in the world for the year.
According to Airports Council International (ACI), the preliminary list of the top ten busiest airports is once again led by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Aiport in the United States, which received 104.6 million passengers in 2023 – up by 11.7 percent, VisaGuide.World reports.
Similarly, the busiest airport with the most international passengers was Dubai Airport in the United Arab Emirates, which marked the third year in a row. However, the rest of the list has differed significantly compared to the previous years.
Top 10 Airports Account for 10% of Global Traffic in 2023
A total of 806 million passengers were recorded at the top ten airports in 2023. In total 8.5 billion passengers were recorded in 2023, up by 27.2 percent from 2022 and reaching 93.8 percent of the pre-pandemic levels. The international market grew by 36.5 percent, reaching 90.4 percent of the 2019 levels, while the domestic market recovered 96.8 percent of 2019 levels.
According to ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira, global air travel in 2023 witnessed a surge in international passenger traffic, which was impacted by several factors, such as China reopening and a growing number of travellers, despite economic factors.
Notably, cargo continues to play a key role in world commerce despite the year-over-year decrease. Hong Kong International Airport has maintained the top position, followed by Memphis International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Doha International Airport rejoins the top ten, jumping to number eight with a growth of 6.3 percent over 2019.
In terms of international passengers, the top three airports have all maintained their positions. Dubai Airport remains the busiest airport with the most international passengers, receiving 86.9 million passengers in 2023. This is 31.7 percent more than in 2021 and 0.8 percent more than in 2019.
London and Amsterdam followed, with 74.9 and 61.8 million passengers respectively, while Paris was fourth, with 61.4 million passengers. Compared to pre-pandemic levels when Paris Airport ranked sixth busiest in the world, in the last two years (2022 and 2023) it has ranked fourth.
Atlanta Airport Received Most Passengers in 2023
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has maintained its first position for the third year in a row while Dubai (UAE), became the second busiest airport in the world throughout 2023, up from the fifth and fourth position from the previous years, respectively. In general, Dubai Airport received 86.9 million passengers – 31.7 percent more than in 2022 and 0.7 percent more than in pre-pandemic times (2019).
The Dallas Fort Worth Airport in the United States dropped to the third position, down from the second spot it secured in 2022, while in 2019 it was listed tenth. With more than 81.7 million passengers, this airport witnessed an 11.4 percent increase in 2023, while compared to 2019, passenger arrivals rose by 8.9 percent.