Air travel has become a vital piece of the global economy. It is the most popular means of travel over long distances, capable of carrying vacationers, visitors, businesspeople, or armed forces personnel to their destinations more quickly and safely than could rails, roads, or waterways. Air transport is also ideal for non-human cargo including mail, merchandise, and military payloads.
As a result, cities around the world have adapted quickly, building enormous airports and support infrastructure to meet the ever-growing demand for affordable, available air transport. The world’s largest and busiest airports by passenger traffic are measured by total passengers. Total passengers imply to enplaned plus passengers deplaned plus direct-transit passengers.
Here are the top 20 largest airports in the world by passenger traffic.
| Rank | Airport | Country | Total passengers |
| 1. | Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport | United States | 107,394,029 |
| 2. | Beijing Capital International Airport | China | 100,983,290 |
| 3. | Dubai International Airport | United Arab Emirates | 89,149,387 |
| 4. | Los Angeles International Airport | United States | 87,534,384 |
| 5. | Tokyo Haneda Airport | Japan | 86,942,794 |
| 6. | O’Hare International Airport | United States | 83,245,472 |
| 7. | London Heathrow Airport | United Kingdom | 80,126,320 |
| 8. | Hong Kong International Airport | Hong Kong | 74,515,927 |
| 9. | Shanghai Pudong International Airport | China | 74,006,331 |
| 10. | Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport | France | 72,229,723 |
| 11. | Amsterdam Airport Schiphol | Netherlands | 71,053,147 |
| 12. | Indira Gandhi International Airport | India | 69,900,938 |
| 13. | Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport | China | 69,743,211 |
| 14. | Frankfurt Airport | Germany | 69,510,269 |
| 15. | Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport | United States | 69,112,607 |
| 16. | Seoul Incheon International Airport | South Korea | 68,360,648 |
| 17. | Istanbul Atatürk Airport | Turkey | 68,350,784 |
| 18. | Soekarno–Hatta International Airport | Indonesia | 65,667,506 |
| 19. | Singapore Changi Airport | Singapore | 65,628,000 |
| 20. | Denver International Airport | United States | 64,494,613 |
