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

• Capacity globally for March 2023 is 14% higher than February 2023, however if we adjust February to be 31 days and then compare month on month the increase is 3%.
• Atlanta continues to be the world’s busiest airport this month with 5 million seats.
• Dubai International and Tokyo Haneda airports are in 2nd and 3rd places with 4.6 million seats and 4.3 million seats respectively. Capacity for Dubai International is similar to last month when using 31 days for February 2023 (adjusted) and Tokyo Haneda is higher by 2%.
• London Heathrow remains in 4th place with a 3% increase in capacity compared to last month (February adjusted). 
• In the top 10 busiest airports globally, Atlanta has had the biggest increase in capacity this month compared to February 2023 (adjusted) with an increase of 7%.
• Guangzhou capacity has been growing in the last few months, however, this month capacity has remained the same as last at 3.7 million seats and the airport has moved down 2 places to 8th place. 
• When compared to last year, 9 of the Top 10 this month were also among the world’s Top 10 busiest airports in March 2022. The airport which has seen its ranking rise, bringing them into the Top 10 now is Istanbul (from 13th to 7th).

KEY POINTS

• The busiest airport for international flights in March 2023 continues to be Dubai International with 4.6 million seats; capacity has remained at the same level as February 2023 (adjusted).
• London Heathrow continues to stay in 2nd place with 3.8 million seats and capacity has grown by 4% compared to last month (adjusted).
• Istanbul is in 3rd place this month with a 2% increase in seats compared to last month (adjusted). 
• The airport in the top 10 for international flights with the biggest increase in seats is Frankfurt with 7% compared to February 2023 (adjusted) and is in 7th place.
• Amsterdam has increased capacity by 6% and is in 6th place.
• Doha has decreased capacity by 1% compared to last month (adjusted) and is the only airport to have a drop in capacity in the Top 10.
• Madrid Airport has moved up into the Top 10 airports for international flights and Bangkok has dropped out. 
• Out of the Top 10 Busiest International Airports in March 2023, 8 were in the Top 10 in March 2022 as well. The airports which have seen their rankings rise, bringing them into the Top 10 now are; Singapore Changi (from 11th to 4th) and Incheon (from 46th to 8th). 

KEY POINTS

• London Heathrow continues to be the busiest airport in Europe for March 2023 with 4 million seats and Istanbul remains in 2nd place with 3.7 million seats.
• Paris Charles de Gaulle is in 3rd place with 3 million seats and a capacity increase of 4% compared to February 2023 (adjusted). 
• Three airports in the European top 10 have had the biggest increases in capacity compared to February 2023 (adjusted) increasing by 7%, these are: Frankfurt, Barcelona and London Gatwick.
• Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport is the only airport to decrease capacity this month compared to last month (adjusted) by -1%.  
• Out of the Top 10 busiest International Airports in March 2023, 9 were in the Top 10 in March 2022 as well. London Gatwick is the only airport that wasn’t in the top 10 in March 2022; it was in 15th place and is now in 9th 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.