Busiest airports on the planet in 2025 revealed by ACI World

ACI World today revealed the top 10 airport rankings for passengers, cargo and aircraft movements in 2025, confirming that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport remains the busiest passenger gateway on the planet, and still the only hub handling more than 100 million travellers per annum.

The top five busiest airports for passenger traffic is completed by Dubai International (DXB), Tokyo Haneda (HND), Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and Shanghai Pudong (PVG).

Hong Kong (HKG) retained its status as the world’s busiest cargo airport and Chicago O’Hare (ORD) its No.1 ranking as the busiest for airport aircraft movements.

ACI World director general, Justin Erbacci, said: “We congratulate the world’s busiest airports for managing growing air travel demand amid increasing operational complexity.

“These hubs keep people and goods moving, supporting global trade, tourism, and economic growth in their communities and regions. To help keep pace with rising demand, governments must prioritise sustained investment in airports and the broader aviation ecosystem.”

PASSENGER HIGHLIGHTS

ACI World reveals that an estimated 9.8 billion passengers passed through the world’s airports in 2025 – 3.6% more than in 2024 and a gain of 7.3% on pre-COVID 2019.

The top 10 busiest airports for total passenger traffic represent 9% of global passenger traffic.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta handled 106.3 million passengers in 2025 followed by DXB with 95.2 million and Tokyo Haneda with 91.7 million.

Shanghai Pudong recorded the biggest jump in the top 10, rising from tenth to fifth.This growth was supported by international traffic recovery, visa policy easing, and expanded connectivity.

Guangzhou Baiyun rebounds to nine position, up from 57th in 2022.

Four airports in the top 10 are in the United States, reflecting continued market strength. They all have significant domestic passenger shares (80–95% domestic traffic).

INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS

According to ACI Wold data, international passenger traffic reached four billion in 2025, representing a gain of 5.9% vs 2024 and 8.3% vs 2019.

The top 10 busiest airports for international passenger traffic account for 17% of total international traffic.

Dubai International Airport remains the busiest international airport in the world followed by London Heathrow, the long time holder of the accolade, and and Incheon in South Korea.

 

AIR CARGO

ACI World reveals that air cargo volumes are estimated to have increased by 2.9% year-over-year (almost +8.8% versus 2019), to almost 128.9 million metric tonnes in 2025.

Air cargo traffic is more concentrated amongst the main airports. Air cargo volumes in the top 10 airports represent close to 26% of global air cargo traffic.

The increase, says ACI, is driven by strong e-commerce demand and supply chain adjustments.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Pudong remain in first and second rank respectively, and Anchorage comes in third,

 

AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS

ACI World data estimates that there were around 101.5 million aircraft movements in 2025, an increase of 2.3% compared to 2024, but still marginally below pre-COVID 2019 levels.

Chicago O’Hare ranks first, followed by Atlanta, and Dallas Fort Worth, Denver and Los Vegas – all in the US. Indeed, seven of the top ten busiest airports in the world for aircraft movements are in the United States.

The top 10 represent 6.4% of all global aircraft movements.