LAX ranks as one of the world’s busiest airports

Maddie Rose and Addie Bink

1 minute ago

If you’ve missed your flight or are about to leave the airport after a long journey, there may be nothing worse than seeing a crowded terminal.

Of course, some airports are busier than others, including five U.S. airports that were recently ranked among the world’s 10 busiest airports.

Earlier this week, Airports Council International (ACI) released its preliminary ranking of the world’s busiest airports in 2023 based on total passenger traffic.

Globally, around 8.5 billion passengers were served in 2023, an increase of more than 27% from 2022, the report said. No other airport saw more passengers boarding and disembarking than Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport maintained its No. 1 spot for another year.

According to ACI, Atlanta Airport will handle more than 104.7 million passengers in 2023, about 18 million more than second-place Dubai International Airport.

Dubai has surpassed Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport with nearly 5 million passengers.

Other U.S. airports in the top 10 are:

• No. 6 — Denver International Airport: 77.8 million passengers
• No. 8 — Los Angeles International Airport: 75.1 million passengers
• 9th place — Chicago O’Hare International Airport: 73.9 million passengers

Rounding out the list were airports in London, Tokyo, Istanbul and New Delhi.

Meanwhile, Denver and Chicago have actually dropped in the rankings since 2022, when they were ranked 3rd and 4th, respectively.

According to the Chicago Department of Aviation, passenger traffic at O’Hare Airport grew 8.1% from 2022 to 2023. Officials said in a March press release that the numbers were the highest in four years as O’Hare Airport “continues to experience sustained passenger growth.”

Denver International Airlines had its busiest year on record in 2023, serving more than 70 million passengers annually for the first time in its history. Meanwhile, international travel skyrocketed, with the airport receiving more than 7 million passengers in its first month.

However, neither airport was able to outpace the busiest airport.

“The continued recovery in travel demand in other parts of the world is due to the decline in DEN’s 2023 global rankings,” Denver International said in a press release.

No U.S. airport ranks among the top 10 for international passenger traffic. But when it comes to cargo transported, the U.S. dominated the top 10, led by the Memphis, Tennessee, airport. Anchorage; Louisville, Kentucky; Miami; and Los Angeles made the list. Memphis ranked second after Hong Kong.

Eight U.S. airports were ranked as having the most “aircraft movement,” or takeoffs and landings. Atlanta, Chicago (O’Hare), Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles (LAX), Charlotte, New York (JFK)).

ACI’s preliminary report can be found here.

If you want a on-time flight, you might want to avoid the busiest U.S. airports, according to a recent report from Cirium. Pall International had the most on-time departures between Minneapolis and St. Louis in 2023, the aviation analytics firm said.

Among the busiest airports compiled by ACI, Los Angeles International Airport ranked highest, with almost 80% of flights departing on time last year. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airlines, ranked 20th on Cirium’s list, was a close second with an on-time departure rate of 78.89%.