The Coolest Airports Around the Globe in 2024, with Some Surprises

So, flights are back in action, and here are the busiest airports worldwide for 2024, with some fresh faces shaking up the scene.

As per CNN on Wednesday (April 17, 2024), the flight frenzy has given a boost to several international hubs, shuffling up the list of the busiest airports. But hey, no changes at the tippity-top.

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta has been holding down the fort as numero uno for passenger traffic since forever, except for that one blip during the pandemic in 2020.

But here’s the scoop: for the first time ever, Dubai snagged the second spot in the initial rankings by the Airports Council International (ACI) for 2023, dropped just this Monday.

“Dubai had about 87 million cruising through in 2023. That’s a whopping 31% jump from the previous year and 1% higher than back in 2019. And get this, they’ve got connections to 262 destinations across 104 countries, working with 102 international airlines,” spilled the beans Luis Felipe de Oliveira, the big boss over at ACI World.

Dubai leapfrogged from fifth place in 2022, showing some major growth vibes in the aviation realm.

And let’s talk about that growth spurt. The aviation industry in developing countries in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific is on track to double up compared to the big shots in developed countries over the next couple of decades.

But hold up, Atlanta’s not sweating it just yet. With a whopping 104.7 million in 2023, Dubai still hasn’t caught up.

That number’s still about 5% shy of ATL’s pre-pandemic passenger count in 2019. But fear not, Atlanta is on track to serve up around 110 million come 2024, bouncing right back to those 2019 levels.

Now, let’s zoom out a bit. Globally, passenger traffic in 2023 soared 27% from 2022, nearly hitting 94% of the 2019 total. Domestic travel is leading the recovery charge, growing by 20% from 2022 to almost hitting 97% of the 2019 levels.

Alright, here’s the lowdown on the top 10 busiest airports in the world for passenger traffic in 2023: