- Airports in Tokyo and London jumped into the rankings as international travel returned last year.
- U.S. domestic airports have become more popular during the pandemic amid restrictions on international travel.
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has once again topped the list as the world's busiest airport.
Overseas travel soared last year, with airports from London to Tokyo rising to the top of global rankings for passenger numbers.
Dubai International Airport will be the second-busiest airport in 2023, up from fifth in 2022 and fourth in 2019, according to Airports Council International's provisional rankings released on Monday. Passenger numbers to Tokyo International Airport increased by 55% last year compared to 2022, and the airport ranked fifth in his ranking, up from 16th the previous year.
The world's airports carried 8.5 billion passengers last year, up 27% from 2022 but still about 6% below pre-pandemic numbers, ACI said, citing preliminary figures.
The resurgence of international travel has been a boon for airlines with large international networks, but domestically focused ultra-low-cost carriers have struggled in recent months. While U.S. domestic airports continued to see strong passenger growth, some slipped in the rankings compared to the height of the pandemic, when international travel restrictions limited long-distance international travel.
About 78 million people flew through Denver International Airport last year, a 12% increase from 2022, but the airport, a major hub for United Airlines, fell from third to sixth in ACI's rankings.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta Air Lines' largest hub, serves 104.7 million passengers and once again tops the list of busiest airports, ACI announced did.
The 2023 rankings are as follows (2022 rankings are in parentheses):
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (1)
- Dubai International Airport (5)
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (2)
- London Heathrow Airport (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)
