New OAG data has confirmed Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) has remained the busiest airport in the world. 

According to the commercial aviation data insights firm, the top six busiest airports globally in 2023 have remained in the same position in 2024.  

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“With growth across all regions of the world, the ten busiest airports once again reflect the strong recovery in the aviation sector in the last two years,” explained OAG’s chief analyst John Grant.“From the successes in Dallas Fort Worth and Guangzhou to the more recent rapid recovery in capacity at Shanghai Pudong, airlines continue to power ahead with new routes and services despite the supply chain challenges of the post-pandemic world,” he said. 

Four of the top ten are in the US, while post-pandemic growth in the Middle East and Asia has pushed Dubai and Guangzhou significantly up the rankings compared to 2019 standings. 

ATL continues to lead as the world’s busiest global airport by capacity with 62.7 million seats. Capacity at ATL has increased by 2% compared to 2023 but is still just below 2019 levels by 1%.

Dubai International Airport (DXB) is the second-busiest, increasing seats by 7% year-on-year to 6.2 million. Tokyo Haneda (HND) is in third with 55.2 million seats, a 5% increase on 2023, followed by London Heathrow (LHR) in fourth place.

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Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) and Shanghai Pudong (PVG) have both risen significantly in the past 12 months. 

CAN rose from 10th to 7th, with 48.8 million seats available, and PVG now sits in 9th globally with 48.5 million seats, up from 15th in 2023. 

This growth is partly explained by China’s continued aviation resurgence after the ending of lengthy Covid lockdown conditions. PVG is the fastest-growing airport in the “Top 10” with capacity growth of 29% in a single year. 

Istanbul’s growth of 15% capacity since 2019 is indicative of its “growing importance as a global hub,” according to OAG.