ACI World Reveals the World’s Top 20 Busiest Airports

ACI World has published the latest World Airport Traffic Dataset, confirming the top 20 busiest airports in the world.

Airports Council International (ACI) World has published the latest World Airport Traffic Dataset, confirming the top 20 busiest airports in the world and revealing airport passenger, cargo, and aircraft movement rankings for over 2,600 airports across more than 180 countries and territories.

The dataset’s key findings confirm total global passenger traffic for 2022—surpassing  6.6 billion—the return of international traffic, and the prevalence of U.S. airports in the top rankings.  

ACI collects airport traffic every year through its global network of airport operator members, investors, and aviation stakeholders. The dataset allows users to filter through accurate and reliable numbers that can be segmented on a regional, national, and airport level and by traffic type.

Global total passengers surpassed 6.6 billion in 2022, representing an increase of 43.8% from 2021 or a recovery of 72.5% versus pre-pandemic results (2019). The top 20 airports for global passenger traffic represent 18% of global traffic (1.2 billion passengers).

The rankings welcome back some of the world’s largest airport hubs as international traffic returns. The global share of international traffic increased from 25.3% in 2021 to 38.4% in 2022.

The biggest jump in the top 20 rankings is recorded for Heathrow Airport, leaping from 54th to 8th rank as all travel restrictions were lifted by the UK Government in March 2021 after two years of impediment.