Rankings of the world’s busiest airports for 2023

International travel returned to growth last year, pushing airports from London to Tokyo to the top of the global passenger traffic rankings.

Dubai International Airport ranked second in traffic in 2023, up from fifth in 2022 and fourth in 2019, according to Airport Council International’s preliminary ranking, released on Monday. Passenger traffic to the airport Tokyo Haneda International Airport increased 55% last year compared to 2022, and the airport ranked fifth compared to 16th the previous year.

Global airports served 8.5 billion passengers last year, up 27% from 2022, but still about 6% below pre-pandemic counts, the ACI said, citing preliminary data.

The recovery in international travel has been a bright spot for airlines with large international networks, while ultra-low-cost, domestic-focused U.S. airlines have struggled in recent months. U.S. domestic airports continued to see large increases in passenger numbers, but some slipped in the rankings compared to the middle of the pandemic, when international travel restrictions limited long-haul travel abroad.

Nearly 78 million people used Denver International Airport last year, up 12% from 2022, but the airport, a major hub of United Airlinesfell in the ACI ranking from 3rd to 6th place.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta AirlinesThe largest hub once again tops the list of busiest airports, serving 104.7 million passengers, the ACI said.

Here are the 2023 rankings (with the 2022 rankings in parentheses):

1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (1)
2. Dubai International Airport (5)
3. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (2)
4. London Heathrow (8)
5. Tokyo Haneda International Airport (16)
6. Denver International Airport (3)
7. Istanbul Airport (7)
8. Los Angeles International Airport (6)
9. Chicago O’Hare International Airport (4)
10. New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (9)