Airport Rankings: Headed back to normal

The world's big airports are regaining their top-of-the-list status as pandemic travel restrictions continue to ease and air traffic recovers, but next year's figures are likely to be the ones most like the pre-pandemic list.

Because U.S. air passenger traffic rebounded faster than in Europe or Asia, U.S. airports snagged five of the top 10 slots this year, with Atlanta in its traditional #1 spot, with Dallas, Denver and Chicago immediately behind, and Los Angeles in #6.

Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle made it back to the top 10 for the first time since the pandemic started, joined by Dubai, Istanbul and New Delhi. Beijing, Tokyo and Shanghai, usually among the top 10, will likely be back on the list next year, after a slow restart in 2022.

Here are the new passenger figures from Airports Council International

1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport: 93.6 million
2. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport: 73.3 million
3. Denver International Airport: 69.2 million
4. Chicago O’Hare International Airport: 68.3 million
5. Dubai International Airport: 66 million
6. Los Angeles International Airport: 65.9 million
7. Istanbul Airport: 64.2 million
8. London Heathrow: 61.6 million
9. Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi: 59.4 million
10. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport: 57.4 million