Four U.S airports ranked in the top 10 busiest airports globally, according to OAG’s “The Busiest Airports of 2024” report. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (No.1), Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (No. 5), Denver International Airport (No. 6) and Chicago O'Hare International Airport (No. 10) all cracked the top 10, as determined by the number of seats across domestic and international flights.
The busiest airport overall in 2024 was Atlanta (ATL) with 62.7 million seats. (It also held the top spot in 2023 and 2019.) Airline capacity at ATL increased by 2 percent compared to 2023, but was below 2019 levels by 1 percent.
Both Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and Denver (DEN) surpassed their 2019 performance, with capacity increases of 18 percent and 24 percent, respectively, marking the highest growth among the top 10 airports. Additionally, compared to 2023, DFW and DEN expanded their capacity by 7 percent and 5 percent more seats, respectively. DFW ranked 13th in 2019, while DEN ranked 21st.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) saw the most rapid growth among the top ten airports, with a 29 percent increase in capacity compared to 2023. This is largely due to China’s ongoing travel recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, PVG moved from 15th busiest in 2023 to ninth busiest in 2024.
When looking at the top 10 busiest international airport—measuring capacity only on international flights—no U.S. airport made the list. In place. Dubai, London Heathrow, Seoul Incheon, Singapore Changi and Amsterdam filled out the top five spots. The remainder were all location in Europe, the Middle East or Asia. Dubai also ranked No. 1 in 2023 and 2019.
When looking at Europe, Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) saw the biggest increase in capacity compared to 2023, adding 21 percent more seats; the airport is also 9 percent above 2019 levels.
Source: OAG
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