Expand / Collapse search
☰

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport named world's busiest again amid centennial

By
Published  April 15, 2025 7:17am EDT
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
FOX 5 Atlanta

ATLANTA - APRIL 15: Delta Air Lines Inc. planes line up at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport April 15, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Air Lines Corp.'s board of directors approved the merger between the

Expand

The Brief

    • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is celebrating its 100th anniversary while retaining its title as the world’s busiest airport, with 108.1 million passengers in 2024.
    • The airport has held the No. 1 spot for 26 of the past 27 years; global air travel rebounded with 9.5 billion passengers last year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
    • The top five busiest airports after Atlanta were Dubai, Dallas Fort Worth, Tokyo Haneda, and London Heathrow, with Shanghai Pudong recording the biggest year-over-year growth at 41%.

ATLANTA - Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is marking a major milestone today with a centennial kickoff celebration and pep rally, honoring 100 years of operation. The event pays tribute to the airport’s storied past, its global impact today, and its vision for future innovation.

What we know:

The celebration comes as the airport once again claims the title of the world’s busiest airport, according to new data from Airports Council International (ACI). Hartsfield-Jackson saw more than 108 million passengers in 2024, an increase of 3.3% over the previous year. While impressive, that number is still about 2% below the airport’s pre-pandemic 2019 volume.

The Delta Air Lines hub has now held the No. 1 ranking for 26 of the past 27 years, cementing its central role in global air travel.

By the numbers:

Globally, airports handled a total of 9.5 billion passengers in 2024, a 9% increase from 2023 and 3.8% above pre-pandemic levels in 2019, ACI reports. Among the top 10 busiest airports, Denver International Airport saw the biggest year-over-year increase, with passenger traffic up 19%.

According to ACI, the world’s 10 busiest airports for passenger traffic in 2024 are:

  1. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) – 108.1 million passengers, up 3.3%
  2. Dubai International (DBX) – 92.3 million passengers, up 6.1%
  3. Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) – 87.8 million passengers, up 7.4%
  4. Tokyo Haneda (HND) – 85.9 million passengers, up 9.1%
  5. London Heathrow (LHR) – 83.9 million passengers, up 5.9%
  6. Denver International (DEN) – 82.4 million passengers, up 5.8%
  7. Istanbul Airport (IST) – 80.1 million passengers, up 5.3%
  8. Chicago O’Hare (ORD) – 80 million passengers, up 8.3%
  9. New Delhi Indira Gandhi (DEL) – 77.8 million passengers, up 7.8%
  10. Shanghai Pudong (PVG) – 76.8 million passengers, up 41%

ACI represents more than 2,100 airports across 170 countries.

The Source

  • Information for above story obtained from Hartsfield-Jackson and Airports Council International (linked above). 

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International AirportAtlantaNews