Many pundits anticipated that ATL would be overtaken by Beijing (PEK) by 2015, which held the world's second spot last year.
Airports Council International(ACI), which is the trade association of the world’s airports, announced traffic statistics of airports in 2016. The statistics reveal that traffic at the world’s 20 busiest air passenger hubs grew 4.7% in 2016. Compare to previous year, the top spot for the world’s busiest airport is unchanged. Atlanta-Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) ranked as the world’s busiest airport, boasting over 104 million passengers, 2.6% more than 2015.
Beijing (PEK) held onto the second spot. Dubai (DXB) again secured the third position. Los Angeles (LAX), one of the fastest growing hubs, climbed to fourth place.
Istanbul Airport (IST) ranked Europe’s 5th busiest airport after London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam, and Franfurt Main.
Many pundits anticipated that ATL would be overtaken by Beijing (PEK) by 2015, which held the world’s second spot last year. Growing 5% to over 94 million passengers in 2016, China’s busiest airport saw subdued growth in previous years as it faced continuing capacity constraints. Conversely, ATL experienced above average growth levels spurred by aircraft fleet expansions in 2015 by Delta Air Lines, its major operator.
Dubai (DXB), remained in third position. As a major connection point for long-haul international flights, the airport is also the world’s busiest in terms of international passengers ahead of London-Heathrow (LHR). Total passenger traffic at DXB grew 7.2% in 2016.
Based on reports from 1,179 airports worldwide, ACI’s preliminary passenger traffic results for the most-traveled airports in 2016 reveal that the world’s top spot continued to belong to Atlanta-Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL). Boasting over 104 million passengers and growing 2.6% in 2016, the airport is within a two-hour flight of 80% of the United States’ population.
Photo caption: Beijing Capital International Airport
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
