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 (ATL) is the world’s busiest airport this month with 5.3 million seats and a capacity increase of 7% compared to April 2023.
• Dubai International Airport (DXB) is the second busiest airport this month with 4.7 million seats and a capacity increase of 5% compared to last month. Dubai International in May 2019 was the 18th busiest airport and in May 2023 is the 2nd busiest airport growing by 1.3 million seats.  
• There is one more day in May compared to April, looking at seats per day shows Atlanta and Dubai have both still increased capacity by 3% and 2% respectively.
• The 3rd, 4th and 5th busiest airports in May 2023 are the same as last month with Tokyo (HND) in 3rd place with 4.5 million seats, London Heathrow (LHR) in 4th with 4.3 million seats and Istanbul (IST) in 5th with 4 million seats. 
• Los Angeles International (LAX) is the 9th busiest airport this month and has seen the biggest increase in capacity with 8% compared to last month and an increase of 5% when looking at seats per day.
• Guangzhou (CAN) is in 7th place and has seen seats stay the same as last month with a -3% decrease when looking at seats per day. 

KEY POINTS

• The busiest airport for international flights in May 2023 is Dubai International (DXB). With 4.7 million seats, the airport has 16% more international capacity than the next busiest international airport which is London Heathrow (LHR).
• Seats per day at Dubai (DXB) and London Heathrow (LHR) have both increased by 2% this month compared to April 2023.
• Amsterdam (AMS), ranked in third place, has added 247,879 international seats this month which is 5% more seats per day compared to last month.
• Incheon (ICN) is in 8th place and has added the most number of seats this month, adding just over 300k, which is 8% more seats per day than last month.
• The busiest international airports are concentrated in the Middle East and Europe with 2 in the Middle East and 6 in Europe; the other Top 10 busiest airports are located in Singapore and South Korea.

KEY POINTS

• In Europe, London Heathrow (LHR) is the busiest airport with 4.3m seats in May 2023, or 138,521 seats per day. Overall capacity for May 2023 at Heathrow is 6% ahead of Istanbul Airport (IST), ranked second, which has capacity of 4m seats.
• All airports in the European Top 10 busiest airports also appeared in the Top 10 last month and have kept the same places. All airports have increased capacity this month compared to last month.
• London Gatwick (LGW) sees the biggest increase with 7% more seats per day. In absolute numbers, Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) has added the most capacity in May 2023, compared to April, with 253,210 more seats and is in 3rd place.
• Madrid (MAD) airport has had the smallest increase in capacity with 1% more seats per day and sits in 6th 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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