World’s busiest airport: Beijing Capital Airport tops global list, surpassing Atlanta

▲ Beijing Capital International Airport is the world’s second busiest in terms of passenger traffic. (Photo / Wikimedia Commons)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

The Swiss International Airports Association recently released rankings of global airports based on passenger traffic and cargo volume, with the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States once again taking the top spot — marking its 12th consecutive year holding this honor. Among the world’s top 10 busiest airports by passenger traffic, four are in the U.S., three in Asia, and two in Europe. Additionally, an international association has assessed that Beijing Capital Airport, currently ranked second, could overtake Atlanta and become the world’s busiest airport as early as 2016.

The top-ranked Atlanta International Airport serves 95.66 million passengers annually. Beijing Capital International Airport comes in second with 81.93 million, followed by London Heathrow Airport with 70.04 million in third place, Tokyo Narita Airport with 66.80 million in fourth, and Chicago O’Hare International Airport in the U.S. with 66.64 million closely behind. Ranks six to ten go to Los Angeles Airport, Paris Airport, Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Indonesia, and Dubai Airport.

Asia is rising rapidly — not only does it have three of the top 10 busiest airports, but also among the top 21, Asia accounts for eight, surpassing the United States' six and far outpacing European airports. These include Hong Kong in 12th place, Bangkok in 14th, Singapore in 15th, Guangzhou in 18th, and Shanghai in 21st.

The Global Business Travel Association estimates that China could become the world’s largest consumer of business travel in the future. With strong business growth, Beijing Capital Airport is also expected to surpass Atlanta and become the world’s busiest airport.