In this article, we review which airports had the highest number of aircraft movements in 2021, based on the total number of landings, take-offs, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following list is based on figures from Airports Council International (ACI) and displays the top 10 airports in order of total aircraft movements in 2021. Figures are calculated by totalling all aircraft landings and take-offs at each airport throughout the course of the year, with consideration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This article was updated on 27 April 2022, based on figures published on 11 April 2022.
1. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
(ATL)
Acting as the primary international airport serving Atlanta, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the busiest airport in the world by passenger number and is one of the busiest by aircraft movements.
Total aircraft movements: 707,661
Compared to 2020: 29.1 per cent increase
2. Chicago O’Hare International Airport
(ORD)
Located on the Northwest Side of Chicago, Illinois, O’Hare International Airport is the second busiest airport in the world and one of the most significant transportation hubs in the U.S.
Total aircraft movements: 684,201
Compared to 2020: 27.1 per cent increase
3. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
(DFW)
Located across two counties due to its size, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is the largest hub for American Airlines and third busiest airport by passenger number.
Total aircraft movements: 651,895
Compared to 2020: 26.7 per cent increase
4. Denver International Airport (DEN)
Generating over $26 billion for the region of Colorado each year, Denver International Airport is the fourth-busiest airport in the U.S., the world’s largest aviation market.
Total aircraft movements: 580,866
Compared to 2020: 32.9 per cent increase
5. Charlotte Douglas International Airport
(CLT)
Charlotte Douglas International Airport is a civil-military airport located in North Carolina and is financially operated on a fully self-sustaining basis.
Total aircraft movements: 519,895
Compared to 2020: 30.6 per cent increase
6. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Located along the West Coast of the U.S., Los Angeles International Airport is a gateway to multiple international destinations, particularly Asia and the Pacific.
Total aircraft movements: 506,769
Compared to 2020: 33.6 per cent increase
7. Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
(LAS)
Located in Paradise, Nevada, McCarran International Airport is the main airport for public and military use in the Las Vegas Valley.
Total aircraft movements: 486,540
Compared to 2020: 50.4 per cent increase
8. Phoenix Deer Valley Airport (DVT)
Phoenix Deer Valley Airport is a public airport in Maricopa County, Arizona. It is owned by the City of Phoenix and acts as a reliever airport for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).
Total aircraft movements: 4402,444
Compared to 2020: 31.6 per cent increase
9. Miami International Airport (MIA)
Essential to Miami-Dade’s trade status, Miami International Airport is the world’s largest gateway to Latin America & the Caribbean for international freight.
Total aircraft movements: 387,973
Compared to 2020: 54.4 per cent increase
10. Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
Named after George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the U.S., the airport offers service to more Mexican destinations than any other U.S. airport and is the hub for Atlas Air and United Airlines.
Total aircraft movements: 378,562
Compared to 2020: 41.4 per cent increase
Passenger numbers
To view the top 10 busiest airports in the world by passenger number – click here.
Cargo handled
To view the top 10 busiest airports in the world by tonnes of cargo handled – click here.
Very interesting informative news. I always thought Chicago O’Hare airport is the busiest, but these news are changing concepts. Even Dubai’s Airport is not in the ranking.
Thank you
This website uses cookies to enable, optimise and analyse site operations, as well as to provide personalised content and allow you to connect to social media. By clicking "I agree" you consent to the use of cookies for non-essential functions and the related processing of personal data. You can adjust your cookie and associated data processing preferences at any time via our "Cookie Settings". Please view our Cookie Policy to learn more about the use of cookies on our website.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorised as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. For our other types of cookies "Advertising & Targeting", "Analytics" and "Performance", these help us analyse and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these different types of cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. You can adjust the available sliders to 'Enabled' or 'Disabled', then click 'Save and Accept'. View our Cookie Policy page.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Cookie
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertising-targeting
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertising & Targeting".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent WordPress Plugin. The cookie is used to remember the user consent for the cookies under the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent WordPress Plugin. The cookie is used to remember the user consent for the cookies under the category "Performance".
PHPSESSID
This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
zmember_logged
This session cookie is served by our membership/subscription system and controls whether you are able to see content which is only available to logged in users.
Advertising and targeting cookies help us provide our visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns.
Cookie
Description
advanced_ads_browser_width
This cookie is set by Advanced Ads and measures the browser width.
advanced_ads_page_impressions
This cookie is set by Advanced Ads and measures the number of previous page impressions.
advanced_ads_pro_server_info
This cookie is set by Advanced Ads and sets geo-location, user role and user capabilities. It is used by cache busting in Advanced Ads Pro when the appropriate visitor conditions are used.
advanced_ads_pro_visitor_referrer
This cookie is set by Advanced Ads and sets the referrer URL.
bscookie
This cookie is a browser ID cookie set by LinkedIn share Buttons and ad tags.
IDE
This cookie is set by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
li_sugr
This cookie is set by LinkedIn and is used for tracking.
UserMatchHistory
This cookie is set by Linkedin and is used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
This cookie is set by YouTube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.
Performance cookies are includes cookies that deliver enhanced functionalities of the website, such as caching. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Cookie
Description
cf_ob_info
This cookie is set by Cloudflare content delivery network and, in conjunction with the cookie 'cf_use_ob', is used to determine whether it should continue serving “Always Online” until the cookie expires.
cf_use_ob
This cookie is set by Cloudflare content delivery network and is used to determine whether it should continue serving “Always Online” until the cookie expires.
free_subscription_only
This session cookie is served by our membership/subscription system and controls which types of content you are able to access.
ls_smartpush
This cookie is set by Litespeed Server and allows the server to store settings to help improve performance of the site.
next-i18next
This cookie is served by the Swapcard app/website to detect and store the user’s language.
one_signal_sdk_db
This cookie is set by OneSignal push notifications and is used for storing user preferences in connection with their notification permission status.
YSC
This cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos.
Analytics cookies collect information about your use of the content, and in combination with previously collected information, are used to measure, understand, and report on your usage of this website.
Cookie
Description
bcookie
This cookie is set by LinkedIn. The purpose of the cookie is to enable LinkedIn functionalities on the page.
GPS
This cookie is set by YouTube and registers a unique ID for tracking users based on their geographical location
lang
This cookie is set by LinkedIn and is used to store the language preferences of a user to serve up content in that stored language the next time user visit the website.
lidc
This cookie is set by LinkedIn and used for routing.
lissc
This cookie is set by LinkedIn share Buttons and ad tags.
nQ_cookieId
This cookie is served by the Swapcard event app/website and uniquely identifies the user’s session.
nQ_visitId
This cookie is served by the Swapcard app/website and uniquely identifies the user.
vuid
We embed videos from our official Vimeo channel. When you press play, Vimeo will drop third party cookies to enable the video to play and to see how long a viewer has watched the video. This cookie does not track individuals.
wow.anonymousId
This cookie is set by Spotler and tracks an anonymous visitor ID.
wow.schedule
This cookie is set by Spotler and enables it to track the Load Balance Session Queue.
wow.session
This cookie is set by Spotler to track the Internet Information Services (IIS) session state.
wow.utmvalues
This cookie is set by Spotler and stores the UTM values for the session. UTM values are specific text strings that are appended to URLs that allow Communigator to track the URLs and the UTM values when they get clicked on.
_ga
This cookie is set by Google Analytics and is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. It stores information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat
This cookies is set by Google Universal Analytics to throttle the request rate to limit the collection of data on high traffic sites.
_gid
This cookie is set by Google Analytics and is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visited in an anonymous form.
Very interesting informative news. I always thought Chicago O’Hare airport is the busiest, but these news are changing concepts. Even Dubai’s Airport is not in the ranking.
Thank you
This is very interesting news. I want to know about top 100 busiest airports in the world .