World's busiest airport
Encyclopedia
The definition of the world's busiest airport has been specified by the Airports Council International
in Geneva, Switzerland. The ACI defines and measures the following three types of airport traffic:
Passenger traffic: total passengers emplaned and deplaned, passengers in transit counted once
Cargo traffic: loaded and unloaded freight and mail in metric tonnes
Traffic movements: landings and take-offs of aircraft
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia
, United States
:
Hong Kong International Airport
, Hong Kong
, China
London airports combined, London
, United Kingdom
Airports Council International
Airports Council International is the association of the world’s airports. It is a non profit organization, whose prime purpose is to advance the interests of airports and to promote professional excellence in airport management and operations...
in Geneva, Switzerland. The ACI defines and measures the following three types of airport traffic:
Passenger traffic: total passengers emplaned and deplaned, passengers in transit counted once
Cargo traffic: loaded and unloaded freight and mail in metric tonnes
Traffic movements: landings and take-offs of aircraft
Busiest airports
The following airports make claims based on objective volume measures that are defined above:Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
:
- Largest number of passengers annuallyWorld's busiest airports by passenger trafficThe world's busiest airports by passenger traffic are measured by number of total passengers . One passenger is described as someone who arrives in, departs from, or transfers through the airport on a given day...
(1998–present); - Most aircraft movements annuallyWorld's busiest airports by traffic movementsThe thirty world's busiest airports by aircraft movements are measured by total movements . One total movement is a landing or take off of an aircraft.- 2010 final statistics :-2009 final statistics:...
(1999–2000, 2005–present); In 2007, Hartsfield again set the world's record for most aircraft movements in one year with 994,346.
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport , being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.The airport opened for commercial...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
- Most cargo traffic by weight annuallyWorld's busiest airports by cargo trafficThe world's thirty busiest airports by cargo traffic for various periods . Numbers listed refer to loaded and unloaded freight in metric tonnes.-2010 final statistics:...
(2010).
London airports combined, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- Largest number of passengers annually in all city airports combinedWorld's busiest city airport systems by passenger trafficThe world's busiest city airport systems by passenger traffic are measured by total number of passengers from all airports within a city or metropolitan area combined...
(2010).
Other current claims
The following airports also make claims based on objective measures, but some of the claims are based on traffic classification:- Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
- Largest number of international passengers annuallyWorld's busiest airports by international passenger trafficThe following is a list of the world's busiest airports by international passenger traffic.London Heathrow has been the busiest since 2000-2010 year-to-date statistics:Airports Council International's year-to-date figures are as follows....
(2004–present).
- Frankfurt International AirportFrankfurt International AirportFrankfurt am Main Airport , or simply Frankfurt Airport, known in German as Flughafen Frankfurt am Main or Rhein-Main-Flughafen, is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, Germany, southwest of the city centre....
, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Most international destinations served.
Historical claims
- Chicago Midway International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- In the late 1940s, Cleveland was the busiest airport in the United States by total aircraft operations – i.e., including every training aircraft practising take-offs and landings. New York LaGuardia had the most airline operations and passengers until the early 1950s, when Chicago became the busiest airport in the United States by any criterion. Before World War II, Chicago Midway was the origin or destination of one in four U.S. airline flights, although a 1939 Official Aviation Guide shows more airline flights scheduled at Newark than at Chicago.
- Chicago O'Hare International AirportO'Hare International AirportChicago O'Hare International Airport , also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, northwest of the Chicago Loop...
, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Chicago O'Hare International Airport
- Largest number of passengers annually (before 1998);
- Most arrivals and departures annually (before 1998, 2001–2004).
- Tokyo International AirportTokyo International Airport, commonly known as , is one of the two primary airports that serve the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. It is located in Ōta, Tokyo, south of Tokyo Station....
, Tokyo, Japan (also known as Haneda Airport)
- Tokyo International Airport
- The world's busiest domestic-only airport until service to SeoulSeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
and Shanghai began.- Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Shanghai, China
- The world's busiest domestic-only airport until service began to SeoulSeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
and Tokyo in October 2007. It handled 19.3 million passengers (about half a million more than Chicago Midway International Airport).
Non-standard claims
- Wittman Regional AirportWittman Regional AirportWittman Regional Airport is a public airport located two miles south of the central business district of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. The airport is owned and operated by Winnebago County. Wittman Field, as it sometimes called, is used almost exclusively for general aviation, but has...
, , United States
- The world's busiest airport by traffic movements during the seven-day EAA AirVenture Oshkosh event. 25,000 traffic movements are handled in a week during the yearly event, and air traffic controllerAir traffic controllerAir traffic controllers are the people who expedite and maintain a safe and orderly flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. The position of the air traffic controller is one that requires highly specialized skills...
s are picked by a competitive selection process to handle this traffic. During the event, a banner reading "WORLD'S BUSIEST CONTROL TOWER" is hung from the control towerControl towerA control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
.
- London Gatwick, 5 km (3.1 mi) north of the centre of CrawleyCrawleyCrawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
, West Sussex, United Kingdom (approximately 45.7 km (28.4 mi) south of Central LondonCentral LondonCentral London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
).
- Gatwick has the world's busiest single-use runway. It does have two runways on site but the close proximity of the two and the length and lack of guidance for the second means that only one is used. It is London's second largest international airportInternational airportAn international airport is any airport that can accommodate flights from other countries and are typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle these flights to and from other countries...
and second busiestBusiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger trafficThe tables below contain CAA data from 2006 to 2009, on the busiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger traffic, including information on international, domestic and transit counterparts...
by total passenger traffic in the United Kingdom after HeathrowLondon Heathrow AirportLondon Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
.
See also
- World's busiest airports by traffic movementsWorld's busiest airports by traffic movementsThe thirty world's busiest airports by aircraft movements are measured by total movements . One total movement is a landing or take off of an aircraft.- 2010 final statistics :-2009 final statistics:...
- World's busiest airports by passenger trafficWorld's busiest airports by passenger trafficThe world's busiest airports by passenger traffic are measured by number of total passengers . One passenger is described as someone who arrives in, departs from, or transfers through the airport on a given day...
- World's busiest airports by international passenger trafficWorld's busiest airports by international passenger trafficThe following is a list of the world's busiest airports by international passenger traffic.London Heathrow has been the busiest since 2000-2010 year-to-date statistics:Airports Council International's year-to-date figures are as follows....
- World's busiest airports by cargo trafficWorld's busiest airports by cargo trafficThe world's thirty busiest airports by cargo traffic for various periods . Numbers listed refer to loaded and unloaded freight in metric tonnes.-2010 final statistics:...
- Busiest airports in Europe by passenger traffic
- List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries
- List of countries without an airport
- World's busiest passenger air routesWorld's busiest passenger air routesThe busiest air routes in the world appear to involve pairs of large cities in close proximity, but which rely more on air transport due to a lack of High Speed Rail, and the distance is large enough to discourage car driving...
- World's largest airlines
External links
- Airports Council International website. A representative industry body for the airport industry that provides air travel statistics.
- Busiest Airports in the World. An infographic showing the top ten busiest airports in the World by passenger traffic in 2008 and 2009.
- Al Maktoum International Airport Dubai – worlds busiest airport