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Atlanta airport is world’s busiest – again
Hartsfield-Jackson served 104.7 million passengers in 2023
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
An aerial view of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is shown from 2022. The Atlanta airport was again the world's busiest in 2023, with 104.7 million passengers. (ASSOCIATED PRESS/file)

ATLANTA – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport retained its distinction as the world’s busiest airport last year, the industry organization Airport Council International reported Monday.

The Atlanta airport served 104.7 million passengers in 2023, based on preliminary figures, an 11.7% increase over the previous year. That figure is still about 5% below Atlanta’s pre-pandemic 2019 passenger total, but Atlanta expects to serve about 110 million passengers in 2024 – bringing the airport back to 2019 passenger levels.

“Being home to the world’s busiest airport underscores our city’s economic vitality,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. “It is a testament to our global connectivity and an affirmation of our city’s place on the world stage.”

Hartsfield-Jackson had been the world’s busiest airport since 1998 until 2020, when it lost the No.-1 ranking to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China during the global COVID pandemic. Atlanta regained the top spot in 2021 and has held it every year since.

But for the first time, Dubai takes the No. 2 ranking, according to Airports Council International’s preliminary rankings for 2023.

“Dubai served around 87 million passengers in 2023. That is a year-to-year increase of 31%, and that is 1% higher than 2019. And they connected 262 destinations around 104 countries to 102 international carriers,” said Luis Felipe de Oliveira, ACI World’s director general.

The airport’s jump up from No. 5 in 2022 is representative of a big growth area in aviation, with industry expansion in emerging and developing economies in the Middle East and Asia Pacific expected at more than twice the rate of advanced economies in the decades to come, de Oliveira said.

Globally, passenger traffic in 2023 grew by 27% from 2022 to reach nearly 94% of 2019 results, with domestic travel rebounding more quickly from the pandemic — growing by 20% from 2022 to reach almost 97% of 2019 levels.

The world’s largest domestic market, the United States, had four more airports – all with significant domestic passenger shares – in the top 10 in 2023: Dallas/Fort Worth (No. 3), Denver (No. 6), Los Angeles (No. 8) and Chicago O’Hare (No. 9).