Millions of passengers fly through hubs in Europe, Asia, and the United States each year, with Dubai, London, Paris, and Tokyo airports among the busiest in the world. Obviously, 2020 was not a normal year, and air traffic plummeted substantially due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to Airports Council International (ACI), overall passenger traffic at the world’s airports has plummeted by 64.6 percent, according to Airports Council International (ACI). As travel restrictions have been relaxed, air travel has recovered at varying speeds worldwide, but the top 10 busiest airports in ACI’s 2020 world airport traffic rankings were all in the United States and China.
1. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport: Guangzhou, China
The total number of passengers is 43,767,558.
With over 40 million passengers in 2020, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) was the world’s busiest airport, down from over 73 million in 2019.
2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport: Atlanta, Georgia
The total number of passengers is 42,918,685.
With approximately 110 million passengers, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) was formerly the world’s busiest airport in 2019. With over 43 million passengers in 2020, this airport suffered a 61.2 percent decrease in travelers.
3. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport: Chengdu, China
40,741,509 people were on board.
Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) was the world’s third busiest airport in 2020, down 27.1 percent year over year.
4. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport: Grapevine, Texas
The total number of passengers is 39,364,990.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), the second busiest airport in the United States last year, rose from tenth to fourth busiest in the world in 2020.
5. Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport: Shenzhen, China
The total number of passengers is 37,916,054.
Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport (SZX) was the world’s 26th busiest airport in terms of overall passenger traffic in 2019, but it rose to fifth in 2020 with approximately 38 million passengers.
6. Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport: Chongqing, China
The total number of travelers is 34,937,789 people.
As other hubs worldwide experienced fewer passengers due to the pandemic, another Chinese airport saw a significant increase in ranking. Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (CKG) ranked 48th in overall passenger traffic in 2019 and sixth in 2020.
7. Beijing Capital International Airport: Beijing, China
The total number of passengers is 34,513,827.
Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) was the world’s second busiest airport in 2019, but passenger traffic dropped by 65.5 percent in 2020, putting it in seventh place this year.
8. Denver International Airport: Denver, Colorado
The total number of passengers is 33,741,129.
In 2020, Denver International Airport (DEN) was one of the busiest airports in the United States. But it could be more than just a major hub; conspiracy theories about the airport involving the Illuminati, underground bunkers, and other topics abound.