Atlanta knocked out as world’s busiest airport as pandemic shuffles 2020 rankings
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
Atlanta has been knocked off its perch as the world’s busiest airport.
The airport finished No. 2 in passenger traffic for 2020, coming in second to Guangzhou, China (CAN), according to an initial count for 2020 from Airports Council International (ACI).
That ends Atlanta’s run of more than two decades as the “world’s busiest airport” as measured by passenger traffic. The last time an airport other than Atlanta (ATL) could make such a claim was 1997, when Chicago O’Hare (ORD) held the top spot.
Atlanta’s fall from the top comes as the COVID-19 pandemic upended travel and sent passenger numbers plummeting around the globe.
Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free new biweekly Aviation newsletter!
The pandemic-related shake-up went beyond just the top spot, dramatically dramatically shuffling the rankings of the world’s 10 busiest airports. The changes underscored how the COVID-19 crisis initially moved across the globe from one region to another.
China, where the COVID-19 crisis first emerged in late 2019, was the first to see air travel wind down. On the flipside, China was also one of the earlier markets to experience a recovery in air travel, with flights and passenger numbers picking up earlier in 2020 than in nations where the effects of the pandemic arrived later — and lingered longer.
And, across nearly all parts of the world, domestic and regional travel have recovered faster than international and long-haul travel. China, of course, has a huge population base for domestic air travel.
Those factors help explain how China ended up with seven of the world’s 10 busiest airports in 2020. In 2019, only two of the global top 10 were in China.
Looking back: IATA: 2020 worst year ever, but some recovery likely by 2022
“In most cases, domestic air travel is beginning a modest rebound while international air travel remains depressed because of on-going travel restrictions,” ACI said in a statement announcing the busiest airports. “For example, Hongqiao International Airport in China has moved from 46th position in 2019 to the 9th in 2020, illustrating the uneven nature of the impact of, and recovery from, the pandemic across the world.”
The U.S. accounted for all three of the other top 10 airports in 2020, with Atlanta joined by No. 4 Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and No. 7 Denver (DEN).
All three are major hubs for U.S. carriers – Delta, American and United, respectively – that leaned heavily on those airports to funnel connecting domestic traffic during the pandemic.
Several other U.S. airports that were among the world’s busiest in 2019 didn’t even place in the top 20 last year: Los Angeles (No. 3 in 2019), Chicago O’Hare (No. 7) and New York-JFK (No. 20).
Also at ATL: Delta’s building a brand-new Sky Club in Atlanta — funded by local taxpayers
As for how the list could look next year as the pandemic (hopefully) eases, don’t be surprised if it returns to a more familiar look.
“While the industry recovers, we expect ATL to retake its spot at the top in the coming years,” Patrick Lucas, ACI World’s vice president for economics, said to CNN.
And, Atlanta did remain No. 1 by another metric: aircraft movements. The airport recorded 548,016 takeoffs and landings in 2020, a figure that was down 39.4% year-over-year but was still enough to finish ahead of No. 2 Chicago O’Hare. Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver and Phoenix (PHX) rounded out the top 5 in that category.
Although both passenger count and aircraft movements are legitimate measures for how busy an airport is, it’s the passenger count that’s been the traditional metric used for bestowing the title of world’s busiest.
The full list of the 10 busiest airports by passengers for 2020 is below.
| AIRPORT | 2019 RANK | 2020 PASSENGER COUNT | 2019 PASSENGER COUNT | PERCENT CHANGE |
| 1. Guangzhou, China (CAN) | 11 | 43,767,558 | 73,394,810 | -40.4% |
| 2. Atlanta (ATL) | 1 | 42,918,685 | 110,531,300 | -61.2% |
| 3. Chengdu, China (CTU) | 24 | 40,741,509 | 55,858,552 | -27.1% |
| 4. Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | 10 | 39,364,990 | 75,066,956 | -47.6% |
| 5. Shenzhen, China (SZX) | 26 | 37,916,054 | 52,931,925 | -28.4% |
| 6. Beijing Capital (PEK) | 2 | 34,513,827 | 100,013,642 | -65.5% |
| 7. Denver (DEN) | 16 | 33,741,129 | 69,015,703 | -51.5% |
| 8. Kunming, China (KMG) | 37 | 32,990,805 | 48,076,238 | -31.4% |
| 9. Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) | 46 | 31,165,641 | 45,637,882 | -31.7% |
| 10. Xi’an, China (XIY) | 40 | 31,073,924 | 47,220,745 | -34.2% |
Source: Airports Council International
Featured photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images.
Sign-up Successful!
Welcome to The Points Guy!
Earn 50,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new card in the first three months of card membership. Plus, earn up to $100 back in statement credits for eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants in the first three months of card membership.
With Status Boost™, earn 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to two times per year getting you closer to Medallion Status. Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels, 2X Miles at restaurants and at U.S. supermarkets and earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases. Terms Apply.
- Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles and 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.
- Plus, earn up to $100 back in statement credits for eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants with your card within the first 3 months of membership.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. *Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $75 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓®.
- Enjoy an exclusive rate of $39 per person per visit to enter the Delta Sky Club® for you and up to two guests when traveling on a Delta flight.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.