With the hustle and bustle of catching the plane, the queues at the security checkpoint and the nerves of not being late to the boarding gate, we always have the feeling that the airports are full of people. And in a certain way it is true, since the world passenger traffic increases year after year. In 2017, the figure reached 8,300 million, 7.5% more than in 2016 (one of the highest recorded growth rates). But not all airports have the same influx of passengers. If you are interested in knowing which are the busiest airports in the world during 2017, we will tell you about it below.
1. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Atlanta, Georgia, USA. In the first position is a US airport. The airport in Alaska had around 104 million passengers in 2017 around the world: specifically 103,902,992 people passed through there. Its traffic increased by only 0.3% compared to 2016, but remained in first place. The location of Atlanta explains its important role as a connection center and gateway to North America, since the city is at a distance of a two-hour flight of 80% of the population of the United States.
2. Beijing Capital International Airport, China. In second place is that of the Chinese capital, Beijing. This airport had 95,786,442 passengers in 2017. Its traffic increased 1.5% last year and kept the same position it occupied in 2016. In recent years its capacity has been saturated due to the number of passengers traveling from this place every day .
3. The Dubai International Airport, located in the United Arab Emirates, remained in the third position with 88,242,099 passengers, increasing its traffic by 3.4% over the last year. This airport is the main base of one of the best airlines in the world: Fly Emirates.
4. Haneda International Airport, Tokyo, Japan. In 2017 alone 85,408,975 passengers passed through it. This figure increased by 6.5% compared to the previous year, when it was ranked as the fifth busiest airport. It is the airport to which most international flights from this region arrive.
5. Los Angeles International Airport, California, USA had 84,557,968 passengers in 2017 thanks, mainly, to competitive air fares that boost the demand of air transport. Its traffic increased 4.5% in the last year, but even so it lowered a position, since in 2016 it was in fourth position.
6. Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Illinois, USA, ranks sixth with 79.82,183 passengers in 2017. It experienced a 2.4% increase in traffic in the last year. A curiosity about this airport is that it was voted the “Best Airport in North America” for 10 years by readers of the North American edition of Business Traveler magazine (1998-2003) and Global Traveler magazine (2004-2007).
7. Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom. In the seventh position we find the first European airport, with 78,014,598 passengers in 2017, year in which it increased its traffic by 3%. Each day they operate close to 1,300 aircraft from 91 different companies.
8. Hong Kong International Airport, China occupies the eighth position by having 72,663,955 passengers in 2017, since it is the most important airport in southern China. It is also known as Chek Lap Kok for being the name of the island where the building began and from which it was gained land to the sea.
9. Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China increased its traffic by 6.1% to reach 70,001,237 passengers in 2017. This airport is the most modern and the third busiest in the country.
10. Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France is the last airport on this list. With 70,001,237 passengers in 2017 it ranks tenth worldwide and as the second busiest in Europe. The project is to build a new terminal from 2020 to receive up to 40 million additional passengers per year.
If you are one of those who like to feel special in the crowd, you should count on us during your trips. In WePark we do not care about the number of passengers, we will always give you a personalized treatment, as if you were the only one.
