The British Airways Airbus A319 plane takes off from Heathrow Airport in London, Britain, on May 17, 2021.
John Sibley | Reuters
International travel rose again last year, propelling airports from London to Tokyo to rise in global passenger traffic rankings.
Dubai International Airport was ranked the second busiest in 2023, up from fifth in 2022 and fourth in 2019, according to the Airport Council International's preliminary ranking, which was released on Monday. Passenger traffic to Tokyo Haneda International Airport increased 55% last year compared to 2022, and the airport ranked fifth, up from 16th the previous year.
Global airports served 8.5 billion passengers last year, up 27% from 2022 but still about 6% below pre-pandemic counts, ACI said, citing preliminary figures.
The resurgence in international travel has been a bright spot for airlines with large international networks, while ultra-low-cost, domestically focused U.S. airlines have struggled in recent months. U.S. domestic airports continued to see big increases in passenger numbers, but some fell in rankings compared to the middle of the pandemic, when international travel restrictions limited long-haul trips abroad.
Nearly 78 million people used Denver International Airport last year, up 12% from 2022, but the airport, a major hub of united airlinesfell in the ACI ranking from third place to sixth place.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta Airlines', the largest hub, once again topped the list of busiest airports, with 104.7 million passengers, ACI said.
Here are the 2023 rankings (with the 2022 rankings in parentheses):
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (1)
- Dubai International Airport (5)
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (2)
- London-Heathrow (8)
- Tokyo Haneda International Airport (16)
- Denver International Airport (3)
- Istanbul Airport (7)
- Los Angeles International Airport (6)
- Chicago O'Hare International Airport (4)
- New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (9)
