Dubai International Airport (DXB) has overtaken Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to become the world’s busiest airport overall in December, according to data.
In December, DXB will serve 5.3 million seats, a 5 percent increase in seats per day compared to last month, Meanwhile, Atlanta sits just 51,408 seats behind at the second spot, travel data provider OAG said in its latest report.
At the same time, DXB also continues to lead the list of the world’s biggest international airports, with London Heathrow a distant No. 2 at 3.96 million seats.
The ranking of busiest airports combines both local and international travel, whereas the ranking for busiest international airports takes only international travel into consideration. The rankings are based on scheduled capacity in the current month and compared to the equivalent month in 2023.
Read: How Dubai International Airport is beating climate change by cutting carbon emissions
Busiest airports overall
At the third spot, following Dubai and Atlanta, is Tokyo International Airport (HND) with 4.7 million seats.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) has had the biggest increase in capacity this month compared to last month with seats per day increasing by 10 percent to 4 million seats and is the sixth busiest airport. In December 2023, Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) was just outside the top 10, in 11th place and in December 2019 it was the 9th busiest airport, so in 2024 it is outperforming both years.
Apart from Shanghai, there is another airport in the top 10 this December that wasn’t last year – Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) – which was in 12th place last December.
| Airport name | Seats |
| Dubai International | 5,278,601 |
| Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson | 5,227,193 |
| Tokyo International (Haneda) | 4,724,163 |
| London Heathrow | 4,256,645 |
| Dallas Dallas/Fort Worth | 4,240,543 |
| Shanghai Pudong International Apt | 4,044,262 |
| Denver International | 4,009,268 |
| Istanbul Airport | 3,989,189 |
| Delhi | 3,959,126 |
| Baiyun Intl (CN) | 3,955,435 |
Read: Abu Dhabi Airports welcomes 21.7 million passengers as of September 30, 2024
Busiest international airports
At the third spot in the list of the busiest international airports is Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) with 3.8 million seats. The airport’s seats per day have increased by 8 percent compared to last month.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) has had the biggest increase in capacity, adding 10 percent more seats per day this month compared to November 2024 and is the eighth busiest international airport with 3.2 million seats, timely with the opening of the third runway in late November.
Doha Airport (DOH) has moved up into the Top 10 Busiest International Airports this month in 10th place with 2.8 million seats and Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) has dropped out.
In December 2024, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) is the only airport which wasn’t in the Top 10 Busiest International Airports last year – it was in 11th place in December 2023 and is in 9th place this year.
| Airport name | Seats |
| Dubai International | 5,278,601 |
| London Heathrow | 3,964,305 |
| Singapore Changi | 3,755,103 |
| Seoul Incheon International | 3,677,834 |
| Paris Charles de Gaulle | 3,211,540 |
| Istanbul Airport | 3,208,121 |
| Amsterdam | 3,195,643 |
| Hong Kong International | 3,188,627 |
| Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International | 2,867,876 |
| Doha | 2,752,138 |
