INTERNATIONAL. Airports Council International (ACI) World today published its annual World Airport Traffic Dataset, revealing the level of the aviation industry’s recovery last year and confirming global air traffic rankings for 2021.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (75.7 million passengers, +76.4% year-on-year) returned to the top of the rankings, based on a strong US domestic market recovery. It was followed by Dallas Forth Worth (62.5 million passengers, +58.7%) and Denver (58.8 million passengers, +74.4%). The number one airport in 2020, Guangzhou, was eighth in 2021.
From the top 20 rankings, almost all airports have significant domestic traffic representing 65% to 100% of their total passenger volumes. The only exception is Istanbul Airport with a larger international traffic share (72% of passenger traffic).
As reported, Dubai International maintained its position as the world’s busiest airport for international traffic in 2021, ahead of Istanbul and Amsterdam.
In 2021, the world’s airports served 4.6 billion passengers, representing an increase of +28.3% from 2020 or a drop of -49.5% from 2019 results. The top 20 airports, representing 19% of global traffic (863 million passengers), had a gain of +42.9% from 2020 or a drop of -31.9% against their 2019 results.
“Following the release of preliminary data earlier in the year, we are pleased to share ACI’s complete annual World Airport Traffic Dataset,” said ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira. “It remains the authoritative source for global data on air transport demand across major city markets in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America-Caribbean, the Middle East, and North America. It is also the principal industry reference for air traffic rankings by type and region.
“2021 represents the beginning of the aviation industry’s recovery. While some of the perennial busiest airport leaders have re-joined upper ranks, other regions struggle to recover leading to new entrants in the top 20. With many countries taking steps towards the return of a certain normality, lifting almost all the health measures and travel restrictions as supported by science, we welcome the continuation of air travel demand’s recovery in 2022, despite certain headwinds.”
