The 10 Busiest Airports in the World in 2026
Atlanta stayed on top with 106.3 million passengers in 2025, but Asia-Pacific hubs are closing in: Shanghai Pudong jumped five places as global traffic hit a record 9.8 billion.
Quick Answer
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International was the world's busiest airport in 2025, with 106.3 million passengers, according to ACI World. Dubai International was second at 95.2 million, followed by Tokyo Haneda at 91.7 million, Dallas/Fort Worth at 85.7 million and Shanghai Pudong at 85.0 million. Together, the top 10 handled about 884 million passengers — roughly 9% of the world's 9.8 billion air travelers in 2025.
This ranking uses Airports Council International (ACI) World, the trade association of the world's airports, whose World Airport Traffic Dataset compiles traffic reports from over 2,700 airports. Airports are ranked by total passengers — everyone enplaned and deplaned, with passengers in transit counted once — combining domestic and international traffic. Figures are full-year 2025, the latest completed year, from the rankings ACI published in April 2026. Four of the top 10 are in the United States, two are in China, and the United Arab Emirates, Japan, the United Kingdom and Türkiye have one each.
Busiest airport is not the same as busiest for international flights
Ranked by international passengers only, the order changes completely: Dubai is first, London Heathrow second and Seoul Incheon third, and no US airport makes that top 10. That is because the big US hubs run overwhelmingly on domestic traffic — ACI puts the domestic share at 80–95% for the US airports in this top 10. Chicago O'Hare, sixth here, ranks first in the world for aircraft movements (takeoffs and landings).
Total passengers in 2025, millions
Source: ACI World Airport Traffic Rankings 2025Tap any airport to jump to its full breakdown below.
Ranked #10 to #1
Denver
Up 0.1% from 2024- Total passengers in 2025:
- 82.4M
- Category:
- United States
Denver International Airport handled 82.4 million passengers in 2025, essentially flat on 2024 with growth of 0.1%. It holds the last spot in the top 10.
Denver is the fourth US airport in the top 10 — and ACI says the US hubs on this list run on domestic traffic, with domestic passenger shares of 80–95%.
Source: ACI World Airport Traffic Rankings 2025
Guangzhou Baiyun
Up 9.5% from 2024- Total passengers in 2025:
- 83.6M
- Category:
- China
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport handled 83.6 million passengers in 2025, up 9.5% from 2024 — the second-fastest growth rate in the top 10.
ACI notes Guangzhou ranked as low as 57th in 2022, during China's pandemic restrictions. Three years later it is back in the global top 10.
Source: ACI World Airport Traffic Rankings 2025
Istanbul
Up 5.5% from 2024- Total passengers in 2025:
- 84.4M
- Category:
- Türkiye
Istanbul Airport handled 84.4 million passengers in 2025, up 5.5% from 2024, continuing its rapid climb since opening in 2018.
Istanbul finished less than 50,000 passengers behind London Heathrow in seventh place: 84.44 million versus 84.48 million.
Source: ACI World Airport Traffic Rankings 2025
London Heathrow
Up 0.7% from 2024- Total passengers in 2025:
- 84.5M
- Category:
- United Kingdom
London Heathrow handled 84.5 million passengers in 2025, up 0.7% from 2024. It is Europe's busiest airport and one of only two European entries in the top 10.
Heathrow ranked second in the world for international passengers, with about 79.9 million international travelers in 2025 — behind only Dubai.
Source: ACI World Airport Traffic Rankings 2025
Chicago O'Hare
Up 6.0% from 2024- Total passengers in 2025:
- 84.8M
- Category:
- United States
Chicago O'Hare International Airport handled 84.8 million passengers in 2025, up 6.0% from 2024, just 0.2 million behind Shanghai Pudong in fifth place.
By flights rather than passengers, O'Hare is the world's busiest airport: ACI ranks it first for aircraft movements, with 860,015 takeoffs and landings in 2025.
Source: ACI World Airport Traffic Rankings 2025
Shanghai Pudong
Up 10.7% from 2024- Total passengers in 2025:
- 85.0M
- Category:
- China
Shanghai Pudong International Airport handled 85.0 million passengers in 2025, up 10.7% from 2024 — the fastest growth in the top 10, powered by China's international travel recovery and eased visa policies.
Pudong made the biggest jump in the top 10, rising five places from 10th in 2024 to 5th. It is also the world's second-busiest cargo airport, behind Hong Kong.
Source: ACI World Airport Traffic Rankings 2025
Dallas/Fort Worth
Down 2.5% from 2024- Total passengers in 2025:
- 85.7M
- Category:
- United States
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport handled 85.7 million passengers in 2025, down 2.5% from 2024 — the steepest decline in the top 10 — but still held fourth place.
Dallas/Fort Worth also ranks third in the world for aircraft movements, behind Chicago O'Hare and Atlanta.
Source: ACI World Airport Traffic Rankings 2025
Tokyo Haneda
Up 6.7% from 2024- Total passengers in 2025:
- 91.7M
- Category:
- Japan
Tokyo Haneda Airport handled 91.7 million passengers in 2025, up 6.7% from 2024, climbing into third place worldwide.
Haneda rose from fourth in 2024 to third in 2025, overtaking Dallas/Fort Worth — and it now sits within 3.5 million passengers of Dubai in second.
Source: ACI World Airport Traffic Rankings 2025
Dubai
Up 3.1% from 2024- Total passengers in 2025:
- 95.2M
- Category:
- United Arab Emirates
Dubai International Airport handled 95.2 million passengers in 2025, up 3.1% from 2024, holding second place for the third year in a row and closing the gap on Atlanta.
Dubai is also the world's busiest airport for international passengers. ACI counts all 95.2 million of its passengers as international, because Dubai International has no domestic flights.
Source: ACI World Airport Traffic Rankings 2025
Atlanta
Down 1.6% from 2024- Total passengers in 2025:
- 106.3M
- Category:
- United States
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta Air Lines' largest hub, handled 106.3 million passengers in 2025 — about 291,000 a day. Traffic fell 1.6% from 2024, but Atlanta still finished 11.1 million passengers ahead of Dubai.
Atlanta has been the world's busiest airport every year since 1998 except 2020, during the pandemic. That is 27 of the last 28 years.
Source: ACI World Airport Traffic Rankings 2025
What the numbers tell us
The top 10 airports handled about 884 million passengers combined, roughly 9% of the world's 9.8 billion air travelers in 2025 — a total up 3.6% from 2024 and 7.3% above pre-pandemic 2019. Four of the top 10 are in the United States and two in China. Asia-Pacific airports drove most of the movement: Shanghai Pudong jumped from 10th to 5th on 10.7% growth, and Guangzhou Baiyun returned to the top 10 after ranking 57th in 2022.
- Data period:
- Full-year 2025; ACI World airport traffic rankings released April 2026
- Last updated:
- October 20, 2026
- Sources:
- Airports Council International (ACI) World, World's Busiest Airports rankings 2025 (press release, April 14, 2026, and ACI blog); Visual Capitalist for Atlanta's record since 1998
Airports are ranked by total passengers in calendar year 2025, as published by ACI World. Total passengers means passengers enplaned and deplaned, with passengers in transit counted once, and includes both domestic and international traffic. ACI compiles its dataset from traffic reports by over 2,700 airports worldwide. Passenger figures are shown in millions, rounded to one decimal place from ACI's exact counts. ACI released preliminary 2025 rankings in April 2026 and noted that figures may differ slightly once the full dataset is confirmed. Percentage changes are ACI's published changes versus 2024. Global totals (9.8 billion passengers in 2025, up 3.6% versus 2024 and 7.3% versus 2019) are from ACI. Percentage changes for individual airports compare ACI's 2025 figures with its 2024 rankings. Rankings by international passengers, air cargo and aircraft movements are separate ACI rankings and are not used for this list.
Figures marked as estimates are based on publicly available information and may vary from other published sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States, with 106.3 million passengers in 2025 according to ACI World. Atlanta has held the top spot for 27 of the last 28 years, losing it only in 2020.