Travel and aviation analyst OAG has released its ranking of the world’s busiest airports in 2023, calculated using total airline capacity at each airport (based on scheduled one-way airline capacity). While the official number of passengers arriving and departing form the world’s major travel hubs are only expected from the Airports Council International (ACI) around April, OAG’s analysis is a preliminary indication of the ranking.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) came in first as the busiest airport in the world, with 61 million seats, according to OAG. The airport increased 12% compared to 2022 and remained only 3% below 2019 figures. Since the routes served from ATL are mostly domestic, when looking only at international capacity, the airport does not even climb among the top 10.
Following Atlanta is Dubai International Airport (DXB) with 56.5 million seats, all of which are international, according to OAG, making DXB the busiest international airport in the world in 2023. Dubai’s capacity increased by 25% in 2023 compared to 2022 and even exceeded pre-Covid figures by 5%.
Most of the world’s 10 busiest airports remained the same in 2023 as in 2022, albeit in a different order. However, climbing up from 16th place in 2022, China’s Guangzhou Airport (CAN) just made it among the top, sitting at number 10 with 43 million seats. Its climb is most likely due to China finally scrapping its zero-Covid policy at the beginning of 2023 and taking gradual steps to reconnect with the world throughout the year.
While London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) only ranked 5th among the busiest airport, it took 2nd place for international connectivity, with 46.5 million of the 49 million seats at LHR being international. Standing a mere 1% below 2019 levels and 24% above 2022, Heathrow also kept its first place as the busiest airport in Europe.
Similarly to the overall business, most of the “international airports” remained the same, with the exception of Seoul’s Incheon International Airport (ICN), which climbed from 26th place in 2022 directly to 7th place last year. With 34 million seats, its capacity was 159% more than in 2022, albeit still 20% under 2019 figures.
For Europe’s airport, all the 10 busiest airports remained the same, with only slight variations in order.
