Atlanta held onto the crown in 2024, but Dubai, Dallas-Fort Worth and a surging Shanghai reshaped the rest of the world's ten busiest airports.
Quick answer: 1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), 2. Dubai International Airport (DXB), 3. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), 4. Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND), 5. London Heathrow Airport (LHR), 6. Denver International Airport (DEN), 7. Istanbul Airport (IST), 8. O'Hare International Airport (ORD), 9. Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), 10. Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG).
Every year the Airports Council International (ACI) tallies how many passengers moved through each airport on earth, and the final 2024 dataset is the definitive scorecard for global aviation. This list ranks the ten busiest airports in the world by total 2024 passenger traffic, straight from ACI's final World Airport Traffic Dataset. It's a snapshot of where the world actually flies: a US-heavy top ten anchored by mega-hubs for Delta, American and United, alongside the international connecting giants of Dubai, London, Istanbul and a fast-rebounding Shanghai. If you want to know which airports handle the most humans, and how each one moved versus 2023, this is the picture.
Atlanta reclaimed the top spot with more than 108 million passengers, up 3.3% on the year. It has been the world's busiest airport almost every year since 1998, powered by Delta's largest hub and a central US location that makes it the country's dominant connecting point.
Dubai handled over 92 million passengers, growing 6.1%, and remains the world's busiest airport for international traffic. Almost all of its volume is international, driven by Emirates' long-haul connecting hub between Europe, Asia and Africa.
American Airlines' largest hub climbed to third on strong 7.4% growth, topping 87 million passengers. One of the largest airports in the world by land area, DFW keeps gaining share of US connecting traffic.
Haneda is Asia's busiest airport, posting 9.1% growth to nearly 86 million passengers as Japanese aviation continued its post-pandemic recovery.
Europe's busiest airport carried nearly 84 million passengers, up 5.9%. Heathrow runs near capacity on just two runways as the primary long-haul gateway to the United Kingdom.
Denver handled over 82 million passengers, up 5.8%. The largest airport in the Western Hemisphere by land area, it is a major United and Southwest hub serving the fast-growing Mountain West.
Opened only in 2018, Istanbul Airport is Turkish Airlines' hub and grew 5.3% to just over 80 million passengers, more than 50% above its 2019 levels, bridging Europe, Asia and Africa.
Chicago O'Hare edged just below Istanbul with 80 million passengers on 8.3% growth. A dual hub for both United and American, it is also one of the world's busiest airports by aircraft movements.
Delhi is India's busiest airport, up 7.8% to nearly 78 million passengers, reflecting the rapid expansion of one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets.
Shanghai Pudong made the biggest jump in the rankings, climbing 11 places to 10th on a 41% surge as China's international travel rebounded post-pandemic, reaching nearly 77 million passengers.
| # | Name | Country | IATA code | Change vs 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) | United States | ATL | +3.3% |
| 2 | Dubai International Airport (DXB) | United Arab Emirates | DXB | +6.1% |
| 3 | Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) | United States | DFW | +7.4% |
| 4 | Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) | Japan | HND | +9.1% |
| 5 | London Heathrow Airport (LHR) | United Kingdom | LHR | +5.9% |
| 6 | Denver International Airport (DEN) | United States | DEN | +5.8% |
| 7 | Istanbul Airport (IST) | Turkey | IST | +5.3% |
| 8 | O'Hare International Airport (ORD) | United States | ORD | +8.3% |
| 9 | Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) | India | DEL | +7.8% |
| 10 | Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) | China | PVG | +41.0% |
Airports are ranked by total passenger traffic in calendar year 2024, as reported in the Airports Council International (ACI) final World Airport Traffic Dataset. ACI's passenger count is enplaned plus deplaned passengers plus direct-transit passengers counted once, so both departing and arriving travelers are included but transit passengers are not double-counted. Rank 1 is the airport with the highest total 2024 passenger count. The list is limited to individual airports (not multi-airport metropolitan systems), covering both domestic and international traffic. The "Change vs 2023" figure is the year-over-year percent change in that passenger total as reported alongside the ACI rankings. Figures are cross-checked against Wikipedia's compilation of the ACI final dataset and contemporaneous reporting from CNN Travel and International Airport Review.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) was the world's busiest airport in 2024, handling about 108.1 million passengers, according to ACI's final World Airport Traffic Dataset. It has held the top rank almost every year since 1998.
ACI counts total passenger traffic as enplaned (departing) plus deplaned (arriving) passengers, plus direct-transit passengers counted once. This means both departing and arriving travelers are included, while transit passengers who stay onboard are not double-counted.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is the world's busiest airport for international passenger traffic. It ranks second overall because almost all of its roughly 92.3 million passengers in 2024 were international, unlike the US mega-hubs whose totals include large domestic volumes.
Shanghai Pudong (PVG) posted a 41% year-over-year jump, climbing 11 places to 10th, as China's international air travel rebounded strongly following the lifting of pandemic-era restrictions.