Dubai International Airport (DXB) has secured its position as the world’s busiest international airport for the 10th consecutive year, according to the latest 2023 data from Airports Council International (ACI) World. The report highlights that DXB welcomed nearly 87 million passengers in 2023, marking a 31.7% increase compared to 2022 and a 0.7% rise from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
ACI’s findings indicate a robust recovery in global air travel, with total passenger traffic reaching close to 8.7 billion in 2023. This represents a 30.5% increase from 2022 and a recovery of 94.2% from 2019 levels. The resurgence in travel was driven by factors such as the reopening of Asian markets and a strong demand for travel despite challenging macroeconomic conditions.
Luis Felipe de Oliveira, ACI World director general and CEO, emphasized the resilience of international passenger traffic. “The dataset findings indicate that the demand for air travel is as strong as ever. International passenger traffic has now almost fully recovered from the pandemic, and the regional disparities are gone,” he stated.
The report also noted the significant impact of China’s reopening on global air traffic. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, which had fallen to the 58th position in 2022, climbed back to the 12th spot in 2023, reflecting the strong growth in the region. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport maintained its position as the world’s busiest airport overall, followed by DXB and Dallas Fort Worth.
In the air cargo sector, global volumes saw a slight decline of 1.8% year-on-year, totaling close to 115 million tons in 2023. Despite this decline, Hong Kong remained the top airport for air cargo volumes, followed by Memphis and Shanghai Pudong. DXB rose one position to 17th for air cargo volumes, witnessing a 4.5% annual increase.
The top 20 airports collectively handled 1.41 billion passengers, accounting for 16% of global traffic. This represents a 26.4% increase from 2022 and a recovery of 96.8% from 2019’s 1.46 billion passengers. Eight of the top 20 airports are located in the United States, with significant domestic passenger shares ranging from 70% to 95%.
Notably, Incheon International Airport experienced the largest jump in rankings, moving from 99th in 2022 to 20th in 2023.
