Half of the 10 busiest global airports in 2023 are in the United States, according to OAG’s latest report, released Wednesday.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport ranked No. 1 as the busiest global airport with more than 61.2 million departing seats. That figure is 12 percent above the seats available in 2022, but 3 percent below what was offered in 2019. Atlanta also was the busiest global airport in 2022 and in 2019.
The other U.S. airports in the top 10 global list included Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in fifth, Denver International Airport at sixth, Los Angeles International Airport in eighth and Chicago O’Hare International Airport in ninth.
Outside of the U.S., Dubai International Airport was the busiest, coming in second overall with more than 56.4 million departing seats.
All of the 10 busiest airports showed increased seat capacity year over year, but only four reported increases from 2019 availability: Dubai, Dallas, Denver and Istanbul Airport. Four also were not among the top 10 in 2019: Dallas, Denver, Istanbul and Guangzhou Airport, which was 10th.
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Busiest U.S. Domestic Routes
The busiest U.S. domestic route in 2023 was Honolulu-Kahului with more than 3.6 million seats, according to OAG. The route was third in 2022 and did not make the top 10 list in 2019. Atlanta-Orlando was second with more than 3.5 million seats, followed closely by Las Vegas-Los Angeles with just less than 3.5 million seats.
The other two routes in the top 10 that were not on the list in 2019 include Denver to Las Vegas, which placed fifth this year, and Denver to Phoenix, which was in eighth.
“New York’s JFK now offers more international connections than any other U.S. airport, but domestic travel in the U.S. remains competitive,” OAG chief analyst John Grant said in a statement. “Navigating ongoing supply-chain challenges successfully will be key for airlines and airports in the U.S. looking to attract more passengers and get capacity levels back to where they were in 2019.”
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Busiest Global Routes
The top global airline route in 2023 is Kuala Lumpur to Singapore Changi with nearly 4.9 million seats, according to OAG. The route was ranked third in 2022. Capacity on that route increase 50 percent year over year but was down 12 percent compared with 2019 levels.
Last year’s top route, Cairo-Jeddah, came in second with nearly 4.8 million seats. Its capacity was up 38 percent compared with 2022 and was up 42 percent versus 2019.
The only route in the top 10 that included a U.S. airport was New York JFK to London Heathrow at eighth with nearly 3.9 million seats. That route had ranked fourth in 2022 and eighth in 2019. Capacity on the route increased 24 percent year over year and was up 1 percent compared with 2019 levels.
Of the top 10 routes, only four continued to show a capacity deficit compared with 2019: Hong Kong to Taipei and each Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Bangkok to Singapore Changi.
