Revealed: the world’s busiest airports

Whether being crowned one of the world's busiest airports is an achievement or a reason to avoid that location is entirely dependent on how spacious and well-managed the place is. A busy airport can be chaotic – long queues at security checks, nowhere to sit while you wait for your flight and a neverending hum of thousands of people talking at once. A busy airport that's prepared for the footfall, however, can be pretty exciting.

Whether you’re looking to avoid the chaos or get stuck in with the crowds, we now know which airports around the globe are the busiest, thanks to Airports Council International. The trade association released its annual ranking, revealing that half of the globe’s busiest spots were in the United States. 

The number one spot went to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The numbers showed that the airport welcomed 23.8% more passengers in 2022 than the previous year, which added up to 93,699,630 travellers. 

Second place went to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which saw 73.4 million people pass through its gates last year. The airport is the largest hub for American Airlines, which might explain why it’s so busy. 

The airport that was crowned as the third busiest in the world was the Denver International Airport with 69.2 million passengers. 

Here are the top 10 busiest airports in the world: 

1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
2. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
3. Denver International Airport
4. Chicago O'Hare International Airport
5. Dubai International Airport
6. Los Angeles International Airport
7. Istanbul Airport
8. London Heathrow Airport
9. Indira Gandhi International Airport
10. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

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