These Asian airports were some of the world’s busiest last year

A WHOPPING TOTAL OF 104 million passengers passed through the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia, the US last year, making it the busiest airport in the world.

Out of the top 20 busiest airports in the world last year, 10 are located in Asia.

Among them are the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India and the Guangzhou Bai Yun International Airport in Guangzhou, China. The former jumped sixth spots (22nd to 16th) from last year, with a 14.1 percent increase in passengers, while the latter grew by 10.3 percent. They’re currently the fastest growing airports not only in Asia but also the world.

The nine mudras (hand gestures) designed at the entrance of the Terminal 3 complex at Indira Gandhi International Airport. Source: Shutterstock.

ACI predicts that India will represent the third largest aviation market in terms of passenger throughput after the US and China by 2020.

“Growing rapidly in a relatively short period of time, India is poised to be one of the largest aviation markets in the world in the years to come. With an astounding population base of over 1.3 billion inhabitants, the move towards a more liberalized aviation market coupled with stronger economic fundamentals has helped to awaken the Bengal tiger to become one of the fastest growing markets in the world,” ACI wrote.

Populous country China is home to over 10 airports that boasts over 20 million passengers per annum – each.

Its airline industry continues to grow at rapid speed, with airlines buying more planes and selling more tickets to travelers, and contributing to the country’s burgeoning travel market. This includes China’s increased business travel. In fact, China is projected to overtake the US as the number one travel market in the world sometime this year, according to BBC.

The security check area at Beijing Capital International Airport. Source: Shutterstock.

“After Beijing (PEK) and Shanghai (PVG), Guangzhou (CAN) is the third busiest airport in China. Just shy of 66 million passengers in 2017, the airport accommodates China’s burgeoning domestic market. The airport’s total passenger traffic grew by 10.3 percent in 2017. Other Chinese airport hubs that occupy a significant proportion of domestic traffic also experienced double-digit growth. Hangzhou (HGH), Xi’An (XIY), Nanjing (NKG) and Tianjin (TSN) grew by 12.6 percent, 13.2 percent, 15.5 percent and 24.5 percent respectively,” ACI wrote.

“The Chinese appetite for air transport services has the potential to add an additional three billion passengers by 2040. This represents a 21 percent share of the contribution to projected global passenger traffic growth that is forecasted by 2040,” ACI added.

The top 20 busiest airports in the world are as follows:

1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Georgia) – 104 million passengers
2. Beijing Capital International Airport (China) – 96 million passengers
3. Dubai International Airport (United Arab Emirates) – 88 million passengers
4. Tokyo Haneda International Airport (Japan) – 85 million passengers
5. Los Angeles International Airport (California) – 84.6 million passengers
6. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (Illinois) – 80 million passengers
7. London Heathrow Airport (United Kingdom) – 78 million passengers
8. Hong Kong International Airport (China) – 73 million passengers
9. Shanghai Pudong International Airport (China) – 70 million passengers
10. Aéroport de Paris-Charles de Gaulle (France) – 69 million passengers
11. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Netherlands) – 68.5 million passengers
12. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (Texas) – 67 million passengers
13. Guangzhou Bai Yun International Airport (China) – 66 million passengers
14. Frankfurt Am Main Airport (Germany) – 64.5 million passengers
15. Atatürk International Airport (Turkey) – 64 million passengers
16. Indira Gandhi International Airport (India) – 63.5 million passengers
17. Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Indonesia) – 63 million passengers
18. Singapore Changi Airport (Singapore) – 62.22 million passengers
19. Incheon International Airport (South Korea) – 62.16 million passengers
20. Denver International Airport (Colorado) – 61 million passengers

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Source: travelwireasia.com