In January 2024, the title of the world’s busiest airport went to Dubai International (DXB) airport, displacing Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL). Aviation consultancy OAG noted that DXB had 5 million seats, which was higher than ATL’s 4.7 million seats. Significantly, ATL saw a 8% reduction in capacity from the previous month. DXB experienced a major transformation in this regard because it was the second busiest global airport by January 2023 and the third in 2019.
OAG’s data also underscored the supremacy of DXB as the world’s most congested international airport in 2023, with a capacity of 56.5 million seats. This was 25% higher than the previous year. The rankings are based on scheduled capacity and reflect DXB as the busiest international airport followed by London Heathrow, Seoul Incheon, Singapore Changi, Istanbul , Amsterdam, Hong Kong International Doha , Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International.
The 10 busiest global airports in January were Tokyo International (Haneda), Guangzhou, London Heathrow, Dallas/Fort Worth, Shanghai Pudong, Denver International, Istanbul and Beijing Capital International. Dubai’s success rests on its strong position in global aviation and the huge growth of seating capacity which confirms it as a major player in international air travel.
