Atlanta was the busiest airport 22 years in a row, until it lost its title to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) in 2020 due to the pandemic. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, China's airports were ranked seven in the top 10.
However, in 2021, Atlanta regained honorary status.
As in 2021, US airports dominate in this year's rankings, making up half of the ACI list. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Denver International Airport (DEN) came in second and third respectively.
Last year, Dallas-Fort Worth handled about 73 million passengers, while Denver — 69 million. The other two US airports on the list were Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), ranked 4th, and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) — 6th.
U.S. airports have dominated the ACI rankings over the past two years, with domestic traffic growing faster than other regions.
However, in 2022, other international airports countries gained momentum, accounting for half of the top 10. A year earlier, the score was 8–2 in favor of the US.
London Heathrow Airport (LHR), Dubai International Airport (DBX), Istanbul Airport (IST), Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) and Airport Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) also made it to the ACI World list, signaling a recovery in international travel, which has largely lagged behind domestic travel.
The only airport in the top 10 to handle more passengers in 2022 year compared to 2019, was Denver.