The world's BUSIEST airports revealed: Inside the 10 most packed aviation centers across the globe
Traveling in the modern era comes with plenty of downsides - many of which hit jet-set vacationers from the moment they enter their airport of choice, where they are more often than not met with over-crowding, endless security lines, and a host of very grumpy passengers.
With summer just around the corner, airports across the globe are going to see a huge surge in the number of people coming and going, particularly amid a mass return to international travel in the wake of the pandemic.
To help jet-setters plan their trips, the Airports Council International has released its preliminary rankings for 2023 for the top 10 most-packed aviation centers across the world - with half of the locations situated in the US.
Coming in at first place is Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International, which comes as no surprise given that the Georgia airport has held that very same spot for the last two decades.
To help jet-setters plan their trips, the Airports Council International released its preliminary rankings for 2023 for the top 10 most-packed aviation centers across the world
Coming in at first place is Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International (pictured), which comes as no surprise because the Georgia airport has held the spot for the last two decades
Meanwhile, holding second place is Dubai United Arab Emirates airport (seen), which made a jump from fifth place in the last year
Travel center! The top 10 busiest airports
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Georgia (ATL): 104.7 million passengers
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DXB): 87 million passengers
- Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (DFW): 81.8 million passengers
- London Heathrow, United Kingdom (LHR): 79.2 million passengers
- Tokyo Haneda, Japan (HND): 78.7 million passengers
- Denver, Colorado (DEN): 77.8 million passengers
- Istanbul, Turkey (IST): 76 million passengers
- Los Angeles, California (LAX): 75.1 million passengers
- Chicago O’Hare, Illinois (ORD): 73.9 million passengers
- Delhi, India (DEL): 72.2 million passengers
Passenger traffic at the Atlanta airport has grown rapidly in recent years. In 2023, it grew by 27 per cent from 2022.
According to the ACI, the airport should serve 110 million passengers in 2024.
Meanwhile, holding second place is Dubai United Arab Emirates airport, which made a jump from fifth place in the last year.
'Dubai served around 87 million passengers in 2023. That is a year-to-year increase of 31 per cent, and that is 1 per cent higher than 2019. And they connected 262 destinations around 104 countries to 102 international carriers,' ACI World’s director general, Luis Felipe de Oliveira, told CNN.
And while Dubai is number two when it comes to overall airports, it sits at the top spot for international areas. Meanwhile, the US holds five out of 10 of the slots for busiest airports in the world.
Dallas/Fort Worth International airport comes in at number three on the list and serves a whopping 81.8 million passengers, which is up 11.4 per cent from 2022.
London Heathrow airpot, which sits at number four, jumped four slots in the last year as it previously held number eight.
The UK aviation center serves 79.2 million passengers, with that number having increased 28.5 per cent since 2022.
Japan's Tokyo Haneda airport made the biggest leap in the past year and went from number 16 to number five.
It now has a whopping 78.7 million passengers, which is up 55.1 per cent from 2022.
London Heathrow airpot, (seen) which sits at number four, jumped four slots in the last year as it previously held number eight
Japan's Tokyo Haneda airport made the biggest leap in the past year and went from number 16 to number five
Coming in at sixth place is another US airport. Denver (seen) is proudly helping 77.8 million passengers reach their destination, which is a 12.3 per cent increase from 2022
Coming in at sixth place is another US airport. Denver is proudly helping 77.8 million passengers reach their destination, which is a 12.3 per cent increase from 2022.
Istanbul's airport stayed at number seven, which is the same slot as it was last year.
However, the number of passengers visiting the aviation center did increase by 18.3 per cent.
The next two slots are occupied by US airports, with California's LAX coming in at eighth place and serving 75.1 million passengers, which is a 13.8 per cent increase from the last year.
In ninth place is Chicago O’Hare airport, which increased 8.1 per cent from 2022 and serves 73.9 million passengers.
Lastly, at number 10, is Indira Gandhi International Airport, which went from nine to 10 in the last year and now serves 72.2 million passengers.
According to aviation experts, airports are still recovering from the lack of traffic during the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020.
Istanbul's airport stayed at number seven, which is the same slot as it was last year
In ninth place is Chicago O’Hare airport, which increased 8.1 per cent from 2022 and serves 73.9 million passengers
Lastly, at number 10, is Indira Gandhi International Airport (seen), which went from nine to 10 in the last year and now serves 72.2 million passengers
'In 2020, we lost like 20 years of development of the aviation sector in one year, so we are recovering very fast considering that,' de Oliveira told CNN.
And while airports have been recovering, travel safety has been at the forefront of jet-setter's minds in recent months due to ongoing issues with Boeing aircrafts.
Recent travel disasters involving Boeing aircrafts have left travelers and flight attendants worried, including the infamous moment that a door plug blew out at 16,000 feet.
There have been a slew of safety incidents in recent years and months regarding Boeing planes.
A door plug blew off midflight on January 5 with 171 passengers and crew onboard, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.
Its catastrophic failure depressurized the cabin, with the force of the air rushing in ripping the shirt off a young boy, whose mom was seen holding onto him. Passengers also watched as their phones were sucked out into the night sky.
Terrifying footage showed fliers looking out through the gaping hole of the fuselage onto the twinkling lights of Portland below in the eerily quiet cabin.
Six Alaska Airlines passengers have sued Boeing after their horror flight where a door plug blew out at 16,000ft, forcing a dramatic emergency landing in Oregon
There were no serious injuries from the terrifying air failure, but passenger's belongings including phones flew out of the aircraft
Miraculously, no injuries were reported on the plane, which had only gone into service in November 2023. Boeing, Alaska Airlines and the National Transportation Safety Board have all launched investigations.
It even sparked a criminal investigation into Boeing - whose whistleblower was found dead.
The criminal investigation will examine whether Boeing has met the conditions of the 2021 settlement reached after the fatal 2018 and 2019 crashes that killed 346 people.
The first occurred when a Max 8 operated by Indonesia's Lion Air plunged into the Java Sea in October 2018.
The second was when an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8 crashed nearly straight down into a field six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa in March 2019.
Boeing reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the FBI and the Transportation Department in the wake of the crashes, admitting that two former employees had misled the FAA over how much training a new flight control system would require.
If the Justice Department finds that Boeing has violated the terms of that settlement, they could face prosecution on the original count of defrauding the US.
Boeing declined to comment on the criminal investigation. DailyMail.com contacted Alaska Airlines for comment.
Boeing is also facing a civil lawsuit from a group of passengers onboard the flight.