US airports top ranking of ‘world’s busiest’ hubs in 2021

by Sarakshi Rai - 04/12/22 12:09 PM ET

A waiting area at Miami International Airport in Miami Fla., is seen on Saturday, November 6, 2021. — Greg Nash

U.S. airports topped the rankings of the world’s busiest airports in 2021, according to new rankings released Monday.

Eight airports in the United States were in the top 10 in the Airports Council International‘s (ACI) preliminary list based on passenger traffic, along with two airports in China.

At the top of the list was the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which saw roughly 75.7 million passengers last year.

It was followed by Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which saw nearly 62.5 million passengers in 2021, and Denver International Airport, with about 58.8 million passengers.

According to ACI, the total number of global passengers in 2021 is estimated to have been close to 4.5 billion, which was an increase of almost 25 percent from 2020. Despite the increase recorded last year, however, passenger traffic figures were still down more than 50 percent from 2019 results.

ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said in a statement, “Although we are cautious that recovery could face multiple headwinds, the momentum created by reopening plans by countries could lead to an uptick in travel in the second half of 2022.”

Domestic flight prices have increased 40 percent since the beginning of 2022 and are expected to rise an additional 10 percent next month.

Here are the top 10 busiest airports in 2021: