As air passenger traffic begins to increase, from a -64.6% plunge in 2020, data collected by Airports Council International suggests that the early stages of recovery have not been uniform around the world. Global passenger traffic at the world’s top 10 busiest airports decreased by -45.7% in 2020.
According to the preliminary data, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China recorded the most passenger traffic in 2020; with Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in the United States just behind.
Seven of the top 10 airports for passenger traffic are in China with three in the United States. In most cases, domestic air travel is beginning a modest rebound while international air travel remains depressed because of on-going travel restrictions. For example, Hongqiao International Airport in China has moved from 46th position in 2019 to the 9th in 2020; this illustrates the uneven nature of the impact of, and recovery from, the pandemic across the world.
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020 | 2019 | AIRPORT | 2020 | 2019 | Percent change |
| 1 | 11 | GUANGZHOU, CN (CAN) | 43 767 558 | 73 394 810 | -40.4 |
| 2 | 1 | ATLANTA GA, US (ATL) | 42 918 685 | 110 531 300 | -61.2 |
| 3 | 24 | CHENGDU, CN (CTU) | 40 741 509 | 55 858 552 | -27.1 |
| 4 | 10 | DALLAS/FORT WORTH TX, US (DFW) | 39 364 990 | 75 066 956 | -47.6 |
| 5 | 26 | SHENZHEN, CN (SZX) | 37 916 054 | 52 931 925 | -28.4 |
| 6 | 2 | BEIJING, CN (PEK) | 34 513 827 | 100 013 642 | -65.5 |
| 7 | 16 | DENVER CO, US (DEN) | 33 741 129 | 69 015 703 | -51.1 |
| 8 | 37 | KUNMING, CN (KMG) | 32 990 805 | 48 076 238 | -31.4 |
| 9 | 46 | SHANGHAI, CN (SHA) | 31 165 641 | 45 637 882 | -31.7 |
| 10 | 40 | XI’AN, CN (XIY) | 31 073 924 | 47 220 745 | -34.2 |
Note: Total passengers enplaned and deplaned, passengers in transit counted once.
| International Passengers | |||||
| 2020 | 2019 | AIRPORT | 2020 | 2019 | Percent change |
| 1 | 1 | DUBAI, AE (DXB) | 25 831 363 | 86 328 896 | -70.1 |
| 2 | 3 | AMSTERDAM, NL (AMS) | 20 880 990 | 71 679 691 | -70.9 |
| 3 | 2 | LONDON, GB (LHR) | 20 650 473 | 76 043 973 | -72.8 |
| 4 | 6 | PARIS, FR (CDG) | 19 057 856 | 69 841 276 | -72.7 |
| 5 | 8 | FRANKFURT, DE (FRA) | 16 837 104 | 63 067 739 | -73.3 |
| 6 | 14 | ISTANBUL, TR (IST) | 15 945 340 | 39 580 735 | -59.7 |
| 7 | 15 | DOHA, QA (DOH) | 12 522 288 | 38 786 566 | -67.7 |
| 8 | 5 | INCHEON, KR (ICN) | 11 955 756 | 70 578 050 | -83.1 |
| 9 | 7 | SINGAPORE, SG (SIN) | 11 635 000 | 67 601 000 | -82.8 |
| 10 | 11 | MADRID, ES (MAD) | 11 052 157 | 44 919 124 | -75.4 |
ACI World estimates that there were 58 million global aircraft movements in 2020, representing a drop of -43% from 2019. The top 10 airports represent 7% of global traffic (4.2 million movements) and experienced a drop of -34.3% compared to 2019. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport surpassed Chicago O’Hare International Airport, after leading in 2019 and 2018.
| Aircraft Movements | |||||
| 2020 | 2019 | AIRPORT | 2020 | 2019 | Percent change |
| 1 | 2 | ATLANTA GA, US (ATL) | 548 016 | 904 301 | -39.4 |
| 2 | 1 | CHICAGO IL, US (ORD) | 538 211 | 919 704 | -41.5 |
| 3 | 3 | DALLAS/FORT WORTH TX, US (DFW) | 514 702 | 720 007 | -28.5 |
| 4 | 5 | DENVER CO, US (DEN) | 436 971 | 631 955 | -30.9 |
| 5 | 20 | PHOENIX AZ, US (PHX) | 402 444 | 456 790 | -11.9 |
| 6 | 7 | CHARLOTTE NC, US (CLT) | 397 983 | 578 263 | -31.2 |
| 7 | 4 | LOS ANGELES CA, US (LAX) | 379 364 | 691 257 | -45.1 |
| 8 | 12 | GUANGZHOU, CN (CAN) | 373 421 | 491 249 | -24.0 |
| 9 | 11 | SHANGHAI, CN (PVG) | 325 678 | 511 846 | -36.4 |
| 10 | 8 | LAS VEGAS NV, US (LAS) | 323 422 | 552 962 | -41.5 |
“The data reveals the challenge airports continue to face” said ACI Director-General Luis Felipe de Oliveira, noting that “it remains imperative that the industry is supported through direct support and sensible policy decisions”.
“The findings show that the impact remains uneven with different regions experiencing different challenges and requiring different policy decisions and support from governments to lay the foundation for recovery.”