This Airport Was Just Named the World's Busiest Airport for the 21st Year in a Row

Stacey Leasca

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is once again officially the world’s busiest airport.

On Monday, the Airports Council International released its annual world traffic report, which includes airport traffic trends and in-depth analysis of the world’s biggest aviation markets.

According to CNN, which reviewed the data inside the report, passenger traffic across the globe increased to 8.8 billion last year. That marks a 6.4 percent increase year-over-year. And those passengers are flying through both major hubs and even smaller regional airports.

Related: Atlanta Airport Guide: How to Make the Most of Your Time at the World's Busiest Airport

"The World Airport Traffic Report shows that even as smaller airports around the world continue to make strong gains, the largest hub airports continue to grow," ACI World Director General Angela Gittens explained in a statement.

However, no airport saw more passengers travel through than Atlanta.

According to the report, more than 107 million passengers flew through the Atlanta International Airport in 2018. That marks a 3.3 percent increase in passenger traffic. It also marks the 21st year in a row that Atlanta is the world’s busiest airport, the report revealed.

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Interestingly enough, while Atlanta moved the most passengers it didn’t move the most airplanes. That honor goes to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport instead. According to the report, that airport had more takeoffs and landings than any other, accounting for about 904,000 aircraft movements in 2018, which includes both cargo and passenger planes.

Beijing Capital International Airport came in a close second for passenger movements, CNN reported, with more than 100 million passengers in 2018. The Dubai Airport came in third with 89 million passengers.

The rest of the top 10 busiest airports for passengers in the world includes Los Angeles International Airport with 87.5 million passengers, Tokyo's Haneda Airport with 86.9 million, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport with 83.2 million, London's Heathrow Airport with 80.1 million, Hong Kong International Airport with 74.5 million, Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport with 74 million, and Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport with 72.2 million.