Atlanta Reclaims Title of World’s Busiest Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is once again the busiest airport in the world. Atlanta’s airport was knocked off its No. 1 perch to the No. 2 slot in passenger volume in 2020 by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China. Atlanta has a 22-year long streak a the top of the list.
Airports Council International World published Monday the top 10 busiest airports worldwide, and the Atlanta airport took the No. 1 spot. The world airport rankings are based on the preliminary compilation of 2021 global data from airports around the world.
In 2021, the Atlanta airport saw a total of 75.7 million passengers. That figure is a huge increase from 2020, 76% up. But passenger totals are still nearly 32% below pre-pandemic 2019 figures.
Guangzhou’s airport dropped to No. 8 in 2021, with 40.3 million passengers. Another airport in China, Chengdu’s Shuangliu International Airport, is ninth on the 2021 list, down from No. 3 in 2020. US airports dominated the passenger traffic rankings in 2021, with eight of the top 10 in the United States.
The biggest improvement recorded was from Orlando International Airport (MCO, 40.4 million passengers, +86.7%) that jumped from 27th position in 2020 to seventh spot in 2021.
As for worldwide air travel, total passengers in 2021 are estimated to be close to 4.5 billion, representing an increase of almost 25% from 2020, or a drop of more than 50% from 2019 results.
Top 10 Busiest Airports
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | Airport | 2021 | % change vs 2020 | % change vs 2019 |
| 1 | 2 | 1 | ATLANTA GA, US (ATL) | 75 704 760 | 76.4 | -31.5 |
| 2 | 4 | 10 | DALLAS/FORT WORTH TX, US (DFW) | 62 465 756 | 58.7 | -16.8 |
| 3 | 8 | 16 | DENVER CO, US (DEN) | 58 828 552 | 74.4 | -14.8 |
| 4 | 13 | 6 | CHICAGO IL, US (ORD) | 54 020 399 | 75.1 | -36.2 |
| 5 | 15 | 3 | LOS ANGELES CA, US (LAX) | 48 007 284 | 66.8 | -45.5 |
| 6 | 18 | 34 | CHARLOTTE NC, US (CLT) | 43 302 230 | 59.2 | -13.4 |
| 7 | 27 | 31 | ORLANDO FL, US (MCO) | 40 351 068 | 86.7 | -20.3 |
| 8 | 1 | 11 | GUANGZHOU, CN (CAN) | 40 259 401 | -8.0 | -45.1 |
| 9 | 3 | 24 | CHENGDU, CN (CTU) | 40 117 496 | -1.5 | -28.2 |
| 10 | 22 | 30 | LAS VEGAS NV, US (LAS) | 39 754 366 | 78.6 | -23.1 |
See more information about this ranking here.
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