Global passenger traffic reached 9.8 billion travellers in 2025, according to the latest World Airport Traffic Dataset published by Airports Council International (ACI) World.
Notably, airports in the Asia-Pacific region recorded some of the largest gains in the annual rankings.
The dataset, which covers 2,817 airports across more than 180 countries and territories, shows passenger traffic increased by 3.7% compared with 2024 and was 6.5% higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The world’s 20 busiest airports collectively handled 1.59 billion passengers, accounting for 16% of global air traffic.
Atlanta Remains the Busiest Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport retained its position as the world’s busiest airport, handling 106.3 million passengers during 2025, representing a 1.6% decline compared with the previous year.
Dubai International Airport remained second with 95.2 million passengers, while Tokyo Haneda Airport rose to third after recording passenger growth of 6.7%.
The remainder of the top five was completed by Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport, with the latter climbing five places after increasing passenger numbers by 10.7%.
London Heathrow remained the busiest airport in Europe, ranking seventh globally with 84.5 million passengers, a 0.7% increase year on year.
Asia-Pacific Airports Record Gains
The most significant changes in the passenger rankings came from airports across Asia-Pacific, reflecting continued recovery in international travel, expanding aviation capacity and growing tourism demand.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport entered the global top 20 after rising six places to twentieth, handling 63.4 million passengers, an increase of 11% over 2024.
Meanwhile, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport climbed from twelfth to ninth after passenger numbers grew by 9.5%. The airport had previously fallen as low as 57th in the rankings during 2022 as China’s aviation market recovered from pandemic restrictions.
ACI World said airports across the region have benefited from infrastructure investment, improved connectivity and renewed international travel.
Justin Erbacci, Director General of ACI World, said:Global air travel is approaching a historic milestone, but record demand is also exposing growing pressures on capacity. The planning and investment decisions made today will determine whether aviation can meet the demands of the next generation of travellers.
Air Cargo
Global air cargo volumes exceeded 131 million metric tonnes during 2025, representing growth of 3.3% compared with 2024 and 7.4% above 2019 levels.
The world’s 20 busiest cargo airports handled 53.1 million metric tonnes, representing around 41% of global cargo traffic.
Hong Kong International Airport retained first place with 5.1 million tonnes, followed by Shanghai Pudong and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
Among the leading cargo airports, Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport and Miami International Airport recorded the strongest annual growth, with cargo volumes increasing by more than 13%.
In contrast, Memphis International Airport dropped from third to sixth place after cargo volumes declined by 20.9% following the loss of the United States Postal Service contract in late 2024.
Aircraft Movements at Pre-Pandemic Levels
Aircraft movements reached 103.1 million worldwide during 2025, increasing by 2.0% year on year and returning to approximately pre-pandemic levels.
For the first time since 2020, Chicago O’Hare International Airport recorded the highest number of aircraft movements globally, with more than 857,000 take-offs and landings, overtaking Atlanta.
Dallas/Fort Worth remained third, while Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou Baiyun and Istanbul Airport all recorded increases in aircraft movements, reflecting continued growth in Asian and Middle Eastern aviation markets.
The ACI World dataset indicates that while North American airports continue to dominate overall traffic volumes, airports across Asia-Pacific are increasing their share of global passenger growth as international connectivity continues to recover.
