Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport held its title as the world’s busiest airport for passenger traffic in 2025, handling 106.3 million travelers. Chicago O’Hare International Airport led all airports globally in the number of flights handled.
What’s Happening: Airports Council International, a global trade group representing more than 2,200 airports in over 160 countries, released its annual rankings April 14. The list covers four categories: total passengers, international passengers, air cargo, and aircraft movements, which count individual takeoffs and landings.
Total passengers: Global passenger traffic reached an estimated 9.8 billion in 2025, up 3.6% from 2024 and 7.3% above 2019 levels. Atlanta led all airports with 106.3 million passengers, followed by Dubai International Airport at 95.2 million and Tokyo Haneda Airport at 91.7 million. Four of the top 10 airports are in the United States. At each of those four airports, domestic travelers make up between 80 and 95% of all traffic. The top 10 airports combined handled 9% of all global passenger traffic.
Asia-Pacific movement: Two Chinese airports made significant moves up the rankings. Shanghai Pudong jumped from 10th to 5th. Guangzhou Baiyun climbed to 9th, up from 57th in 2022.
International passengers: International travel reached 4.0 billion passengers in 2025, up 5.9% from 2024 and 8.3% above 2019 levels. Dubai ranked first for international passengers, followed by London Heathrow and South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. Together, the top 10 international airports handled 17% of all international passengers worldwide.
Air cargo: Airports moved an estimated 128.9 million metric tonnes of freight in 2025, up 2.9% from 2024 and 8.8% above 2019 levels. Hong Kong ranked first for cargo volume, followed by Shanghai Pudong and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska. The top 10 cargo airports handled roughly 26% of all global air freight.
Aircraft movements: Global flights totaled an estimated 101.5 million in 2025, up 2.3% from 2024. Chicago O’Hare ranked first,
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
