BUSIEST AIRPORTS IN THE WORLD

View and interrogate the World's Busiest Airports, with data powered by OAG's Schedules Analyser.

The Top 10 Busiest Global Airports in the World are calculated using total airline capacity (domestic and international flights). The Top 10 Busiest International Airports are calculated using international airline capacity only.  The data is updated each month and is available to download.

KEY POINTS

• Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport remains the busiest airport in the world with 5.2 million seats in September 2023. The composition of the Global Top 10 Busiest Airports is also the same as last month but there are a few changes to the rankings.
• London Heathrow (LHR) has moved up from 5th place to 4th place and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) has dropped from 4th place to 7th place with seats per day reducing by 7% this month compared to last month.
• Istanbul Airport (IST) and Denver International Airport (DEN) have both moved up one place to be the 5th and 6th busiest airports this month.  
• Half of the Top 10 Busiest Airports are located in the USA and Denver (DEN) has seen the biggest increase from a pre-pandemic ranking of 19th largest in 2019 to 6th in September 2023. 

KEY POINTS

• Dubai International (DXB) remains the world’s busiest international airport this month with 4.8 million seats. Dubai International (DXB) has 18% more capacity than London Heathrow which is the second busiest international airport with 4 million seats.
• Five of the Top 10 busiest international airports in September 2023 are located in Europe, with a further two in the Middle East and three in Asia.
• Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) has moved up into the Top 10 in 10th place and London Gatwick Airport (LGW) has dropped out. Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) was the 57th busiest international airport in September 2022 and has moved up into 10th place this month which shows the steady recovery which is happening due to the return of international travel in the region.

KEY POINTS

• London Heathrow is the busiest airport in Europe with 4.3 million seats. There is a small gap, just 3%, between London Heathrow (LHR) and Istanbul Airport (IST) which is the second busiest airport with 4.2 million seats.
• Istanbul Airport (IST) has dropped seats per day by 2% in September 2023 compared to last month and London Heathrow has grown by 1% which has made the gap between the two airports bigger than last month. Last month there was only 3,500 seats between them but this month there is 108,814 seats between them.
• The Top 10 busiest airports in Europe are mostly the same as last month except for Antalya (AYT) which has dropped out and Munich International Airport (MUC) has moved up into 10th place. 

SEATS

The rankings are based on scheduled airline capacity in the current month and compared to the equivalent month in 2019, pre-pandemic. The Top 10 Busiest Airports in the World are calculated using total capacity (domestic and international) and The Top 10 Busiest International Airports are calculated using international seats only.

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