Preliminary passenger and cargo data for 2017 from Airports Council International are marked by strong growth in India, China.
Airports Council International (ACI) has reported preliminary traffic results for the world's 20 busiest airports, based on reports from 1,202 airports worldwide, showing robust growth in passenger numbers and air cargo.
Passenger traffic at the world’s 20 busiest airports grew by 5.2% in 2017. With almost 1.5 billion passengers passing through their terminals in 2017, this group of 20 represents 17% of global passenger traffic.
Preliminary results reveal that Atlanta-Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) has secured top spot again, with almost 104 million passengers. Beijing (PEK), holds second spot and Dubai (DXB) remained in third position. As a major connection point for long-haul international flights, Dubai International Airport is also the world’s busiest in terms of international passengers. Total passenger traffic at DXB grew 5.5% in 2017.
Delhi (DEL) jumped from 22nd to 16th, solidifying its status as one of the fastest-growing airports in the world for passenger traffic. Calcutta (CCU), Hyderabad (HYD), Bangalore (BLR), Madras (MAA) also ranked near the top. Year-over-year growth of 26.9%, 19.6%, 12.9% and 10.5% respectively was achieved in 2017.
Guangzhou (CAN), in China, grew by 10.3% making it the second-fastest growing airport among the top 20.
Air cargo volumes at the 20 busiest airports grew by 6.8% in 2017. These airports handled a combined 51 million metric tonnes of cargo. This represents 43% of global air cargo volumes.
Hong Kong (HKG) occupies top spot as the largest air cargo centre, handling more than five million metric tonnes of cargo in 2017. Volumes at HKG grew by 9.4% year-on-year. Shanghai (PVG), Chicago (ORD) and Doha (DOH) all experienced double digit growth of 11.2%, 12.6% and 15.0%, respectively.