The World's Busiest Airport Is Still in the U.S. - Here's Where

A champion holds onto the title.

We’re now three years out from the start of the pandemic. Many aspects of our lives have changed forever, but some things remain unaltered and endurable. 

As nature continues to heal and we move past 2020, we are beginning to find a new balance, and finding comfort in knowing that certain truths continue to endure.

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Airports, as a category, had their worst year ever in 2020 for very obvious reasons. But once vaccines became available, more people felt comfortable traveling, and demand continued to climb back. And one airport in particular got more foot traffic than anywhere else, as has long been the case.

For 22 consecutive years, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was the busiest airport in the world. In 2020, it lost the crown to China’s Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN). In 2020, China airports took up seven of the top 10 rankings, in large part due to the very strict lockdown measures the country took at the start of the pandemic.

But it’s becoming more apparent that Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport’s brief reign was a historical blip, as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has once again retaken the top spot. Part of the reason, no doubt, is that the airport is a very common spot for layovers and connecting flights if you are traveling to or from the South. 

Last year, around 93.7 million people traveled through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which was a 23.8% increase in passenger traffic from 2021, according to a report released by Airports Council International.

America’s Back, Baby!

Not only has Atlanta cemented its dominance by retaking the top spot two years in a row, but American airports dominated the top ten in terms of traffic last year. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), with 73 million passengers, and Denver International Airport (DEN), with 69 million passengers, took second and third place, respectively.

Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) was the fourth busiest airport and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), was number six on the list.

As noted by The Points Guy, travel is still catching up to pre-pandemic levels, but “U.S. airline CEOs anticipate that strong demand for travel will continue into 2023. The only airport on the list that had more passengers in 2022 compared to 2019 was Denver.”