Airports Council International, based in Switzerland, is the industry organization that compiles and publishes data each year for all of the world’s largest airports. In the term table, Atlanta leads the largest airports by a wide margin and has done so since 2000. The oldest airport in the world was in Maryland USA which was established by flying pioneer Wilbur Wright in 1909 and is still in use today. England’s Croydon Airport claims the world’s oldest international airport. From March 1920 it was the first airport capable of handling international passengers. Croydon served London until 1959 when it was closed following the opening of London’s new Heathrow Airport.
| Largest Airports in the World[1] ✈️ | # | Country / Territory | IATA code[2] | ICAO code[3] | Passengers Latest[4] | Change[5] 📈 | Airport Opened[6] | Terminals[7] | Distance from city (km) | Distance from city (miles) | Direction from city 🧭 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta Airport | 1 | 🇺🇸 USA | ATL | KATL | 107,394,029 | 0 | 1925 | 7 | 16 | 9.9 | South |
| Beijing Capital Airport | 2 | 🇨🇳 China | PEK | ZBAA | 100,983,290 | 0 | 1958 | 3 | 29 | 18 | North east |
| Dubai Airport | 3 | 🇦🇪 UAE | DXB | OMDB | 89,149,387 | 0 | 1960 | 3 | 5 | 3.1 | South east |
| Los Angeles Airport | 4 | 🇺🇸 USA | LAX | KLAX | 87,534,384 | 3 | 1930 | 5 | 24 | 14.9 | West |
| Tokyo Haneda Airport | 5 | 🇯🇵 Japan | HND | RJTT | 87,131,973 | 0 | 1937 | 9 | 25 | 15.5 | West |
| Chicago O’Hare Airport | 6 | 🇺🇸 USA | ORD | KORD | 83,339,186 | -2🔻 | 1944 | 4 | 23 | 14 | North west |
| London Heathrow Airport | 7 | 🏴England, 🇬🇧 UK | LHR | EGLL | 80,126,320 | -1🔻 | 1955 | 4 | 27 | 16.8 | North west |
| Hong Kong Airport | 8 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong, 🇨🇳 SAR China | HKG | VHHH | 74,517,402 | 0 | 1998 | 2 | 39 | 24.2 | North west |
| Shanghai Pudong Airport | 9 | 🇨🇳 China | PVG | ZSPD | 74,006,331 | 4 | 2004 | 1 | 28 | 17.4 | North |
| Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport | 10 | 🇫🇷 France | CDG | LFPG | 72,229,723 | -1🔻 | 1999 | 2 | 30 | 18.6 | East |
| Amsterdam Schiphol Airport | 11 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | AMS | EHAM | 71,053,157 | 3 | 1936 | 2 | 12 | 7.5 | South west |
| New Delhi Indira Gandhi Airport | 12 | 🇮🇳 India | DEL | VIDP | 69,900,938 | 13 | 1986 | 6 | 16 | 9.9 | South west |
| Guangzhou Baiyun Airport | 13 | 🇨🇳 China | CAN | ZGGG | 69,769,497 | 4 | 1984 | 2 | 31 | 19.3 | North west |
| Frankfurt Airport | 14 | 🇩🇪 Germany | FRA | EDDF | 69,510,269 | -2🔻 | 1974 | 5 | 35 | 21.7 | North west |
| Dallas/Fort Worth Airport | 15 | 🇺🇸 USA | DFW | KDFW | 69,112,607 | -5🔻 | 1974 | 3 | 26 | 16.2 | North east |
| Seoul Incheon Airport | 16 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | ICN | RKSI | 68,350,784 | 6 | 1927 | 4 | 21 | 13 | South |
| Istanbul Atatürk Airport | 17 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | IST | LTBA | 68,192,683 | -6🔻 | 1920 | 1 | 14 | 8.7 | South west |
| Soekarno–Hatta Airport | 18 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | CGK | WIII | 66,908,159 | 0 | 1981 | 3 | 12 | 7.5 | East |
| Singapore Changi Airport | 19 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | SIN | WSSS | 65,628,000 | -3🔻 | 1981 | 4 | 20 | 12 | East |
| Denver Airport | 20 | 🇺🇸 USA | DEN | KDEN | 64,494,613 | -1🔻 | 2001 | 1 | 48 | 29.8 | West |
| Suvarnabhumi Airport | 21 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | BKK | VTBS | 63,378,923 | -1🔻 | 1995 | 3 | 37 | 23 | North east |
| John F. Kennedy Airport | 22 | 🇺🇸 USA | JFK | KJFK | 61,909,148 | -7🔻 | 1924 | 3 | 24 | 14.9 | South west |
| Kuala Lumpur Airport | 23 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | KUL | WMKK | 59,959,000 | 0 | 1993 | 2 | 58 | 36 | South |
| Madrid Barajas Airport | 24 | 🇪🇸Spain | MAD | LEMD | 57,891,340 | 0 | 1948 | 9 | 24 | 14.9 | East |
| San Francisco Airport | 25 | 🇺🇸 USA | SFO | KSFO | 57,793,313 | -4🔻 | 2006 | 1 | 30 | 18.6 | East |
| Chengdu Shuangliu Airport | 26 | 🇨🇳 China | CTU | ZUUU | 52,950,000 | 5 | 1956 | 2 | 16 | 10 | South west |
| Barcelona–El Prat Airport | 27 | 🇪🇸Spain | BCN | LEBL | 50,172,457 | 13 | 1918 | 2 | 12 | 7.5 | South west |
| Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport | 28 | 🇮🇳India | BOM | VABB | 49,877,918 | 7 | 1945 | 2 | 5 | 3 | West |
| Seattle-Tacoma Airport | 29 | 🇺🇸 USA | SEA | KSEA | 49,849,520 | 3 | 1944 | 1 | 23 | 14 | South |
| Las Vegas McCarran Airport | 30 | 🇺🇸 USA | LAS | KLAS | 49,716,584 | -4🔻 | 1948 | 2 | 8 | 5 | South |
| Toronto Pearson Airport | 31 | 🇨🇦 Canada | YYZ | CYYZ | 49,507,418 | 2 | 1958 | 2 | 22.5 | 14 | North west |
| Shenzhen Bao’an Airport | 32 | 🇨🇳 China | SZX | ZGSZ | 49,350,000 | 7 | 1991 | 1 | 32 | 20 | North west |
| Mexico City Benito Juárez Airport | 33 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | MEX | MMMX | 47,700,547 | 12 | 1943 | 2 | 5 | 3 | East |
| Orlando Airport | 34 | 🇺🇸 USA | MCO | KMCO | 47,696,627 | 8 | 1981 | 2 | 10 | 6 | South east |