Annual passenger traffic exceeds 100 million for the first time — world’s busiest airport Atlanta retains top spot for 18th consecutive year

▲ Delta Air Lines counter at Atlanta Airport. (Photo / from Wikimedia Commons)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Frequent flyers know that one of the most annoying things when arriving at an airport to check in, wait for a flight, or make a connection is dealing with crowds. Not only does it mean long waits, but you might also encounter all kinds of other irritating issues, which only adds to the frustration if you’re in a hurry. So, where is the world’s busiest airport? Accordingto the Airports Council International (ACI)annual report, the airport with the highest passenger traffic in 2015 was Atlanta.

The report released recently byACIrevealed that the world’s top 10 busiest airports are, in order: Atlanta, Beijing, Dubai, Chicago, Tokyo Haneda, London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Paris, and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Among them, Atlanta Airport (ATL) has held the No. 1 spot since 1998 up to the present, with passenger traffic exceeding 100 million in 2015 alone. Although Atlanta is not a global metropolis on the scale of New York, it serves as a major hub for both domestic and international flights, leading to continuously rising annual passenger numbers.

According to the ACI report, the busier an airport is, the busier it tends to become each year. In 2015, global airport passenger traffic grew by 6.4% compared to 2014, surpassing 7.2 billion passengers. The region with the highest growth was Asia-Pacific, which saw an 8.6% increase in 2015, adding approximately 2.46 billion passengers. As for individual airports, Dubai Airport experienced the highest growth.