Initial data from ACI suggests that global passenger traffic in 2022 has reached nearly seven billion passengers. This represents a 53,5% increase on 2021 figures and represents 73,8% of the total number of passengers reported in 2019.
The top 10 airports accounted for 10% of global passenger traffic, with a recovery of 85,9% compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
The top four airports in 2022 remained the same as in 2021, with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL) the world's busiest airport with 93,7 million passengers. Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) with 73,4 million is in second place, and Denver (DEN) with 69,3 million closes the podium. Chicago O'Hare (ORD) with 68,3 million and Dubai International (DXB) are in the top five busiest airports in 2022.
Five of the top 10 airports are located in the United States and have a significant proportion of domestic passengers, ranging from 75% to 95%.
The busiest airports in the world by total passenger traffic
| 2022 – position | 2021 – position | Airport | 2022 – million passengers | % change from 2021 |
| 1 | 1 | Atlanta GA, USA (ATL) | 93 699 630 | 23.8 |
| 2 | 2 | Dallas/Fort Worth TX, USA (DFW) | 73 362 946 | 17.5 |
| 3 | 3 | Denver CO, USA (DEN) | 69 286 461 | 17.8 |
| 4 | 4 | Chicago IL, USA (ORD) | 68 340 619 | 26.5 |
| 5 | 27 | Dubai, UAE (DXB) | 66 069 981 | 127,0 |
| 6 | 5 | Los Angeles CA, USA (LAX) | 65 924 298 | 37.3 |
| 7 | 14 | Istanbul, TR (IST) | 64 289 107 | 73,8 |
| 8 | 54 | London, GB (LHR) | 61 614 508 | 217,7 |
| 9 | 13 | New Delhi, IN (DEL) | 59 490 074 | 60.2 |
| 10 | 31 | Paris, FR (CDG) | 57 474 033 | 119,4 |
Dubai International (DXB) remained the world's busiest international airport, receiving 66,06 million passengers, an increase of 127% compared to 2021 levels. However, this is 23,5% below 2019 traffic statistics.
The busiest airports in the world by international passenger traffic
| 2022 – position | 2021 – position | Airport | 2022 – million passengers | % change from 2021 |
| 1 | 1 | Dubai, UAE (DXB) | 66 069 981 | 127,0 |
| 2 | 7 | London, GB (LHR) | 58 243 060 | 230,5 |
| 3 | 3 | Amsterdam, NL (AMS) | 52 467 346 | 105,8 |
| 4 | 5 | Paris, FR (CDG) | 51 763 569 | 128,9 |
| 5 | 2 | Istanbul, TR (IST) | 48 521 725 | 83.3 |
| 6 | 4 | Frankfurt, DE (FRA) | 44 771 711 | 97,3 |
| 7 | 9 | Madrid, ES (MAD) | 36 231 191 | 136.2 |
| 8 | 6 | Doha, QA (DOH) | 35 726 721 | 101,8 |
| 9 | 95 | Singapore, SG (SIN) | 31 902 000 | 952,9 |
| 10 | 95 | London, GB (LGW) | 30 145 083 | 501,5 |
The busiest airports by aircraft movements
Airports around the world saw a significant increase in aircraft movements (takeoffs and landings of aircraft at an airport) in 2022, with approximately 89 million movements, an increase of 20,4% compared to the previous year. This recovery represents an 82,5% return to pre-pandemic levels.
The top 10 airports in terms of aircraft movements, which accounted for nearly 7% of global traffic, saw an 11,4% increase over 2021 figures, making a 91,5% recovery from their 2019 statistics.
| 2022 | 2021 | Airport | 2022 | % change from 2021 |
| 1 | 1 | Atlanta GA, USA (ATL) | 724 145 | 2.3 |
| 2 | 2 | Chicago IL, USA (ORD) | 711 561 | 4 |
| 3 | 3 | Dallas/Fort Worth TX, USA (DFW) | 656 676 | 0,7 |
| 4 | 4 | Denver CO, USA (DEN) | 607 786 | 4.6 |
| 5 | 7 | Las Vegas NW, USA (LAS) | 581 116 | 19.4 |
| 6 | 6 | Los Angeles CA, USA (LAX) | 556 913 | 9.9 |
| 7 | 5 | Charlotte NC, USA (CLT) | 505 589 | -2,8 |
| 8 | 9 | Miami FL, USA (MIA) | 458 478 | 18.2 |
| 9 | 27 | New York NY, USA (JFK) | 448 847 | 54.4 |
| 10 | 33 | Istanbul, TR (IST) | 425 890 | 52 |