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New Delhi: In the latest rankings issued by the Official Airlines Guides (OAG) for the month of December 2022, Dubai International Airport maintained its position as the world’s busiest for international passengers, surpassing major hubs such as London Heathrow and aided by Emirates airline’s recovery.
OAG’s monthly rankings were calculated by comparing airlines’ international seat capacity and international flight frequency in December 2022 to the same month in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dubai remained the busiest airport for international flights in December, with 4.6 million seats, an increase of 8% from November and slightly more than one million seats more than the next busiest airport, London Heathrow, according to OAG’s monthly World’s Busiest Airports report.
As per the reports, Dubai and London Heathrow were in first and second place respectively in 2019 as well.
The OAG report asserted that Dubai International Airport managed around 18.5 million passengers in the third quarter of 2022, more than double the previous year’s proving to be a bigger-than-expected rebound from the pandemic.
This was the first time that quarterly traffic had returned to pre-pandemic levels since 2020, with the figure exceeding the 17.8 million passengers who passed through the airport in the first quarter of 2020, prior to the onset of Covid-19.
Throughout the third quarter, the airport saw average monthly traffic surpass the six million mark.
According to the data, the top five busiest international airports are Paris Charles de Gaulle, Istanbul Airport, and Singapore Changi Airport.
As per the report, Incheon Airport in South Korea increased capacity by 19% this month compared to last month, the largest increase among the top-10 ranked hubs.
As a result, Incheon is now ranked ninth for international flights. Eight of the top 10 busiest international airports this month also made the list for December of 2019.
Doha (up from 13th to eighth place) and Madrid airports have seen their rankings rise, bringing them into the top ten (up from 14th to 10th position).
In the list of the top 10 busiest airports in the world in December, which accounts for both domestic and international traffic, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport maintained its position as the leader.
Domestic air travel is not available in Dubai.
The top ten busiest airports in the world are determined by total flight seat capacity (international and domestic), while the top ten world’s busiest airports are determined by international seats only.
According to OAG estimates, Atlanta remains the world’s busiest airport, with 4.7 million seats, a 1% increase over last month.
Dubai and Tokyo Haneda airports are still in second and third place, with Dubai increasing its capacity by 8% between December and November 2022 and Tokyo Haneda increasing capacity by 7%.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports told local media that other factors which make Dubai a desirable travel destination for tourists include the government’s safety measures, cooler weather, an expanding list of tourist attractions.
As international borders reopened and coronavirus restrictions loosened, the airport–a hub for Emirates airline–continued to recover. Strong travel demand was recorded during the busiest summer travel period.
A major European airport was left reeling from delays that caused widespread disruption as demand roared back after the pandemic, as opposed to the Gulf hub, which benefited from running smoothly.
According to OAG data, Dallas Fort Worth is in fifth place with a capacity increase of 5%, and London Heathrow is still in fourth place with a capacity increase of 4% this month.
With a 6% increase in capacity this month, Delhi climbed three spots to seventh place.
In response to Delhi moving up, the airports in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Istanbul have all dropped one spot to eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively.
According to the OAG report, the airports that have seen their rankings rise, bringing them into the top 10 in December, include Dallas Fort Worth (from 14th to fifth), Denver Airport (from 20th to sixth), and Istanbul Airport (from 19th to 10th).
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