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atlanta – Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport maintains its ranking as the world’s busiest airport, but changes in the travel industry are also giving other airports a boost in passenger throughput .
Airports Council International (ACI) World recently released its annual list of the top 10 busiest airports. The list spans three continents, with half located in the United States.
Hartsfield-Jackson International maintained its position, but every other U.S. city on the list dropped at least one spot.
Dallas-Fort Worth International came in third, Denver sixth, Los Angeles eighth and Chicago ninth.
Dubai International Airport rose to second place for the first time, while Tokyo Haneda International Airport made a remarkable rise from 16th place in 2022 to 5th place in 2023.
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Denver International Airport announced that despite its drop in global rankings, the airport reported its busiest year on record.
“In the same year, DEN airlines carried 77,837,917 passengers, 12.3% higher than the previous record of 69,286,461 passengers in 2022,” the airport said in a statement. “2023 is the first year in history that DEN served more than 70 million passengers annually.”
The world's busiest airport accounted for about 10% of the estimated 860 million pedestrians.
Airport rankings are based on data from more than 2,600 facilities in approximately 180 countries around the world.
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International travel will drive growth in 2023
Travel experts suggest that a strong dollar, visa wait times and other global macroeconomic issues are fueling the surge in air travel outside the United States.
Airports in Dubai, London, Tokyo, Istanbul and New Delhi all made it to the list of the world's busiest airports.
Although each region has its own unique culture and climate, it is generally considered safe on the U.S. Department of State's travel advisory list.
“Global air travel in 2023 was primarily driven by the international sector due to several factors,” Luis Felipe de Oliveira, world director of ACI World, said in a statement. “These include the expected benefits from China's economic reopening and the growing propensity to travel despite macroeconomic conditions.”
Despite a surge in travel in countries around the world, none surpassed the 104.7 million passengers carried by Atlanta in 2023.
Dubai's second-place ranking is based on its passenger throughput of 87 million, an increase of about 32% from just a year ago.
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