Airports Council International (ACI) World released the annual list of ten busiest airports worldwide for 2021 showing encouraging signs of traffic recovery as many previous busiest airports re-join the top ranks. Total global passengers in 2021 is estimated to be close to 4.5 billion. Passenger traffic represents collectively almost 10 percent of global traffic – a gain of 51.8 percent from 2020. Eight of the ten spots are occupied by the airports based in the U.S. The world rankings of the busiest airport are based on the preliminary compilation of 2021 global data from airports around the world. Let’s take a look at the top 10 busiest airports in the world in 2021. (Image: Reuters)
Rank 10 | Las Vegas, United States | Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport was the 10th busiest airport in the world last year with 39.75 million passengers. In the year 2020, Las Vegas was 22nd in the world. (Image: Twitter @LASairport)
Rank 9 | Chengdu, China | Another airport in China, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, is ninth on the 2021 list of world’s busiest airports with about 40.1 million passengers, down from third position in 2020. (File Image: Youtube)
Rank 8 | Guangzhou, China | After reaching the top rank in 2022, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport slid to the eighth position in 2021 with 40.3 million passengers, 8 percent less from last year. (Image: Reuters)
Rank 7 | Orlando, United States | Orlando International Airport is now the seventh busiest in the world for 2021, jumping from its 27th ranking in 2020. The airport saw nearly 40.4 million passengers travel through the airport. (Image: Twitter @MCO)
Rank 6 | Charlotte, United States | Charlotte Douglas International Airport saw nearly 43 million passengers in 2021, 59.2 percent up from last year during the coronavirus pandemic. (Image: Reuters)
Rank 5 | Los Angeles, United States | Los Angeles International Airport, commonly known as LAX, moved from its 15th ranking in 2020 to fifth busiest airport in the world in 2021 with nearly 48 million passenger. (Image: Reuters)
Rank 4 | Chicago, United States | Chicago O’Hare International Airport took the fourth spot with over 52 million passengers in 2021, up from the 13th sport in 2020. (Image: Reuters)
Rank 3 | Denver, United States | According to the new ranking by the Airports Council International Denver ranked third with 58.8 million passengers in 2021. (Image: Twitter @DENAirport)
Rank 2 | Dallas-Fort Worth, United States | With about 62.5 million passengers Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas was the second-busiest in 2021, jumping up from fourth position in 2020. (Image: dfwairport.com)
Rank 1 | Atlanta, United States | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is again at the top of 2021 rankings. Atlanta reported more than 75 million passengers in 2021. (Image: Reuters)
