List of the busiest airports

This list of the busiest airports shows the world's most active airports based on several important measures. These measures are set by the Airports Council International (ACI) in Montreal, Canada. The ACI keeps track of four main types of airport activity: how many passengers travel through an airport, how many of those passengers are international travelers, how much cargo is moved, and how many airplanes take off and land.

Airports that are very busy handle millions of passengers every year. Some airports are especially important for international travel, where people fly between different countries. Others might be busy because they move a lot of cargo, like goods and products, all around the world. Still, some airports are busy just because so many airplanes use them every day.

Knowing which airports are the busiest helps us understand how important air travel is for connecting people and places all over the world. It also shows how some cities and countries play a big role in global travel and trade.

Busiest airport by traffic type

Main article: List of busiest airports by passenger traffic Main article: List of busiest airports by international passenger traffic Main article: List of busiest airports by aircraft movements Main article: List of busiest airports by cargo traffic

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia, United States, has been the world's busiest airport for passenger traffic since 2021. It was also the busiest from 1998 to 2019, except in 2020 when Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China took the lead.

Dubai International Airport in United Arab Emirates has been the busiest airport for international passengers since 2014. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport also leads in aircraft movements, meaning it has the most takeoffs and landings, since 2015. For cargo, or goods carried by planes, Hong Kong International Airport in New Territories has been first since 2022. Before that, from 2020 to 2021, Memphis International Airport held this position.

Busiest city destination

Main article: List of busiest city airport systems by passenger traffic

London, United Kingdom, is the busiest city destination for air travel. The airports in London together move more passengers each year than any other city in the world. This has been true since 2010.

Busiest airport by continent

Cairo International Airport in Egypt has been the busiest airport in Africa since 2020. Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates is the busiest airport in Asia. London Heathrow Airport in London, United Kingdom is the busiest airport in Europe. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia, United States is the busiest airport in North America. Sydney Airport in Australia is the busiest airport in Oceania as of 2017. El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia is the busiest airport in South America as of 2022.

Historical claims

Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, United States, was once the busiest airport in the United States. In the late 1940s, it had more aircraft operations than any other airport, including training flights. Before World War II, one in four U.S. airline flights started or ended at Chicago Midway.

Memphis International Airport in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, was the world's busiest cargo airport from 1993 to 2009. It is still the busiest cargo airport in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, mainly because it is the home of FedEx Express.