By The Airports Council International (ACI) World, a global organisation which measures and assesses airport standards– on Monday ranked Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport as the tenth busiest airport in the world in 2023.
The IGI Airport was ranked 9th in 2022, 13th in 2021, and as the 17th busiest airport in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.
Data shared by the ACI on Monday showed that the IGI airport in the capital handled 7.22 crore passengers annually. The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States held the top rank with 10.46 crore passengers.
From the top 10 rankings for total passenger traffic, five of the airports are in the United States. The biggest jump in the rankings is recorded for Tokyo’s Haneda airport, which leaped from 16th position in 2022 to the 5th spot in 2023.
| Ranking | Airport |
| 1 | Atlanta (USA) |
| 2 | Dubai (UAE) |
| 3 | Dallas/Fort Worth (USA) |
| 4 | London (UK) |
| 5 | Tokyo (Japan) |
| 6 | Denver (USA) |
| 7 | Istanbul (Turkey) |
| 8 | Los Angeles (USA) |
| 9 | Chicago (USA) |
| 10 | New Delhi (India) |
According to the ACI report, the top 10 airports representing close to 10% of global traffic, witnessed a gain of 19.8% from 2022 or a gain of 0.7% from 2019.
The organisation said that the global total passenger forecast for 2023 stands close to 8.5 billion, reflecting a remarkable recovery of 93.8% from pre-pandemic levels.
“Global air travel in 2023 was chiefly fuelled by the international segment, propelled by several factors. Among these were the anticipated benefits from China’s reopening and a growing inclination towards travel despite macroeconomic conditions,” ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said.
He added,“While perennial leaders from the US continue to dominate the top 10 busiest airports for passengers, notably Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport retaining its number one position, there are notable shifts. Dubai International Airport jumped to second rank for the first time, while Tokyo Haneda International Airport witnessed a remarkable ascent from 16th position in 2022 to 5th in 2023. Additionally, the unwavering strength of Istanbul and New Delhi airports keep them in top ranks, marking significant progress over 2019.”
The latest ACI’s airport rankings are based on data gathered from over 2,600 airports across more than 180 countries and territories globally.
