The top 10 busiest airports worldwide for 2023 were announced by The Official Airlines Guide, with half of them located in the United States.
With over 62.2 million seats available, OAG named Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson foreign Airport, or ATL, the busiest global airport of the year based on the combined capacity of domestic and foreign airlines.
The results shouldn’t be shocking because the airport in the capital city of Georgia has won the title each year since 1998, with the exception of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic momentarily caused China’s Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to overtake Atlanta.
According to OAG data, the other nine airports were located in the US, Europe, and Asia and together they represented 500 million seats made available by international carriers in 2023.
All ten of the top airports surpassed the 2022 figures. A few airports even achieved higher capacity than in 2019, Denver International Airport seeing the largest increase with 17% greater capacity than in the pre-pandemic period.
OAG data shows that available seats at Dubai International Airport climbed by 5%, while those at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Istanbul Airport in Turkey increased by 10% each.
In contrast to the 63.3 million seats that were available there in 2019, Atlanta is still 3% lower. Even still, its 2023 figures were around five million seats more than those of the second-busiest airport.
The busy airport in Atlanta is well-liked for a variety of reasons. Not only does it house Delta Air Lines’ extensive network, but 80% of the US population can reach it in two hours by plane thanks to its Southeast position.
Here are the top 10 busiest airports in the world for 2023, according to OAG.
10. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Seats: 43.4 million
Rank in 2022: 16
Rank in 2019: 12
Change from 2019: Down 4%
Guangzhou Baiyun in China temporarily gained the world’s busiest airport title in 2020 during the COVID outbreak.
The airport, known by its code, CAN, is a hub for China Southern Airlines.
9. Chicago O’Hare International Airport
Seats: 43.7 million
Rank in 2022: 6
Rank in 2019: 6
Change from 2019: Down 14%
Chicago O’Hare is the city’s main international airport and operates alongside Chicago Midway Airport, which is one of Southwest Airlines’ busiest bases.
O’Hare, known as ORD, is a hub for United Airlines and American Airlines.
8. Los Angeles International Airport
Seats: 44.5 million
Rank in 2022: 8
Rank in 2019: 5
Change from 2019: Down 14%
Los Angeles International Airport, known as LAX, serves as the main international gateway into Southern California and is a huge hub for several carriers, including American, Delta, United, and Alaska Airlines.
Burbank Hollywood Airport, John Wayne Airport, Ontario International Airport, and Long Beach Airport also compete for passengers flying in and out of the Greater Los Angeles area.
7. Istanbul Airport
Seats: 46.4 million
Rank in 2022: 10
Rank in 2019: 16
Change from 2019: Up 10%
Istanbul is home to Turkish Airlines, which was named the best European airline in 2023 by aviation ranking website Skytrax.
It’s known by the International Air Transport Association code IST.
6. Denver International Airport
Seats: 46.7 million
Rank in 2022: 5
Rank in 2019: 21
Change from 2019: Up 17%
Colorado’s capital city airport, known as DEN, has seen the most post-pandemic growth in terms of airline seat capacity, according to OAG.
Denver is a hub for United and Frontier Airlines. It draws a lot of traffic as a hub from smaller cities around the West.
5. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
Seats: 48.1 million
Rank in 2022: 3
Rank in 2019: 13
Change from 2019: Up 10%
American Airlines’ busiest hub, Dallas/Fort Worth airport (DFW), serves as the departure city for a large number of its foreign flights.
Like Chicago’s Midway, Dallas Love Field is a secondary airport that serves millions of Southwest travelers annually. Dallas also offers air service at this location.
4. London Heathrow Airport
Seats: 49.4 million
Rank in 2022: 7
Rank in 2019: 7
Change from 2019: Down 2%
The busiest city airport system in the world by passenger volume is London Heathrow, or LHR, which shares the sky with five other airports in the Greater London area: London City, London Gatwick, London Luton, London Stansted, and London Southend.
Heathrow, which is home to Virgin Atlantic Airways and British Airways, is still ranked No. 4 on its own.
3. Tokyo Haneda Airport
Seats: 52.7 million
Rank in 2022: 4
Rank in 2019: 3
Change from 2019: Down 4%
Tokyo Haneda, known as HND, is one of the two major international airports serving Japan’s capital city, the second being Tokyo Narita, or NRT.
Haneda serves as a base for Japanese carriers Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways.
2. Dubai International Airport
Seats: 56.5 million
Rank in 2022: 2
Rank in 2019: 4
Change from 2019: Up 5%
The primary international airport in the United Arab Emirates is Dubai, or DXB, and serves as a mega-hub for Emirates’ massive widebody fleet of aircraft.
The airport coexists with Dubai World Central, which presently conducts a few commercial flights. The operator of the airport hopes to make it the largest airport in the world eventually.
1. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
Seats: 61.2 million
Rank in 2022: 1
Rank in 2019: 1
Change from 2019: Down 3%
Since 1998, Atlanta has taken the top spot as the busiest airport in the world 25 times, largely due to its advantageous position within the United States and a dearth of competitors.
It serves as a significant Delta Air Lines hub.
Furthermore, unlike airports in Tokyo, London, Dallas, Chicago, and other cities, Atlanta’s airport does not face competition from neighboring airports for travelers.