Guangzhou’s Baiyun Airport was the world’s 7th busiest aviation hub in 2024, according to analysis from the Official Airline Guide (OAG). Shanghai Pudong International Airport was the only other Chinese airport in the top 10, coming in 9th place.
OAG counted the seats on aircraft using each airport’s international and domestic runways to determine its rankings, which placed the US’ Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in first place with 62.7 million seats. Dubai International Airport, in the UAE, followed with 60.2 million seats. Japan’s Tokyo Haneda Airport rounded out the busiest three with 55.2 million seats.
Guangzhou Baiyun clocked 48.9 million seats, representing 12 percent growth on its 2023 performance (which saw it ranked 12th). Shanghai Pudong wasn’t far behind, with 48.5 million seats. Its airport experienced the most year-on-year growth out of the top 10, at 29 percent (Shanghai Pudong was ranked 15th in 2023).
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The other top 10 entrants were London Heathrow Airport in fourth place, then the US’s Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in fifth place. Istanbul Airport slotted in between the two Chinese entrants, and the US’s Chicago O’Hare International Airport was in tenth place.
OAG also ranked the world’s top 10 busiest international airports (seats on domestic flights were not counted here). No mainland Chinese airports made that list, but Hong Hong International Airport was in ninth place. Hong Kong also experienced by far the most year-on-year growth: 40 percent.
Only three of the world’s busiest overall airports made OAG’s second list. Dubai International was at the top, followed by London Heathrow, then South Korea’s Seoul Incheon, Singapore Changi, the Netherlands’ Schiphol, Istanbul, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Frankfurt International. Hong Kong was ninth, while Doha Airport, in Qatar, was tenth.
