The numbers are in…and once again, it’s Atlanta.
In 2025, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) earned the title of busiest airport, not only in the United States, but in the world.
It’s the 27th time in 28 years that central Georgia, Delta Air Lines’ home base, has been able to make that claim.
That’s according to the annual ranking released Tuesday by the Airports Council International, which analyzes the world’s 10 busiest airports based on the number of passengers who passed through them in the previous year.
ATL has held the spot for most of this century, and did so again in 2025 despite Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD). stealing many of the headlines in recent months amid a rapid increase in flights offered by two major airlines. (More on that below…)
That buildup in air service made ORD the third-busiest airport in the United States by 2025, behind only ATL and American Airlines’ Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) megahub.
Elsewhere in the world, Dubai International Airport (DXB) maintained its second-place status on the world stage, and Tokyo’s most convenient hub to the city center, Haneda Airport (HND), earned a place on the proverbial podium.
What is the busiest airport in the world?
Here is a summary of the 10 busiest airports in the world.
| Category | Airport | 2025 passengers | classification 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport |
106,302,208 |
1 |
|
|
Dubai International Airport (DXB) |
95,192,160 |
2 |
|
|
Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) |
91,679,814 |
4 |
|
|
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) |
85,660,127 |
3 |
|
|
Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) |
84,994,227 |
10 |
|
|
Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) |
84,814,099 |
8 |
|
|
London Heathrow Airport (LHR) |
84,482,126 |
5 |
|
|
Istanbul Airport (IST) |
84,437,710 |
7 |
|
|
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) |
83,582,952 |
Not ranked in the top 10 |
|
|
Denver International Airport (DEN) |
82,427,962 |
6 |
Shanghai’s PVG posted the biggest gains in 2025, moving from the world’s 10th busiest to the top five.
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O’Hare also jumped two places, with the huge increase in flights causing 6% more passengers to pass through its terminals last year, compared to 2025.
ORD led the world in one category: the total number of takeoffs and landings, which increased almost 11% from the previous year.
And that lead is likely to widen in 2026, as major airlines United Airlines and American have added flights at a rapid pace in recent months amid a growing aviation turf war. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to intervenehowever, to avoid congestion and ultimately flight delays.
Other rankings worth noting: London Heathrow Airport (LHR) fell from fifth busiest in the world to seventh, and Denver International Airport (DEN) fell from sixth to tenth.
DXB, LHR and Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN) led all global hubs when measured by the number of international passengers passing through there last year.
Busiest Airports in the United States, Ranked
As noted above, four US airports finished in the top 10 in the world.
That means the four busiest airports in the United States last year were:
- ATL
- D.F.W.
- ORD
- DEN
Atlanta’s extension of its lead as the world’s (and U.S.’s) busiest airport was helped by Delta increasing its total departures from the hub by more than 6% in 2025, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
However, as TPG reported earlier this year, a recent pullback in ATL by perennial runner-up Southwest Airlines has given the airport a new de facto number 2 airline.
That label belonged last year to low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines.
Ben Mutzabaugh, TPG Aviation Editor-in-Chief broke down this reorganization in a post you will find it exclusively on our Substack channel, Talking points.
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