This US airport holds its title as the world's busiest. recovered

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(DailyExpertNews) — Pass over, Guangzhou. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia is again the busiest airport in the world.

The US airport was knocked from its No. 1 position into the No. 2 slot in passenger volume by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China in 2020, breaking Atlanta airport’s 22-year streak in the top slot.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was still the busiest passenger airport in the world in 2019. But the pandemic will hit global air traffic hard in 2020.

But in the 2021 ranking released Monday by industry association Airports Council International, ATL is back on top, a sign of recovery from the steep plunge in air traffic in 2020 as the pandemic spread.

In 2021, Atlanta airport saw 75.7 million passengers. That figure is up a whopping 76% from 2020, but still nearly 32% below pre-pandemic numbers from 2019.

Guangzhou airport dropped to number 8 in 2021, with 40.3 million passengers. Another airport in China, Chengdu’s Shuangliu International Airport is ninth on the 2021 list, compared to number 3 in 2020.

U.S. airports dominated the passenger rankings in 2021, with eight of the top 10 in the United States.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas was the second busiest in 2021, with approximately 62.5 million passengers, and Denver, Colorado International Airport was the third busiest with 58.8 million passengers.

Chicago’s O’Hare and Los Angeles International rounded out the top five.

The list shows “an encouraging trend of recovery,” Luis Felipe de Oliveira, ACI World director general, said in a statement.

“While we are cautious the recovery could face multiple headwinds, the momentum created by countries’ reopening plans in the second half of 2022 could lead to an increase in travel,” de Oliveira said.

In 2021, according to ACI, there were an estimated 4.5 billion passengers worldwide. That figure represents an increase of almost 25% from 2020, but a decrease of more than 50% from 2019.

Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, China, supplanted Atlanta International Airport as the busiest in the world in 2020. In 2021, Guangzhou Airport dropped to number 8.

Tian Jianchuan/Xinhua/ZUMA Press

US and China switch places

Given the much faster recovery of domestic travel compared to international travel, airports that were far below the list of the world’s busiest airports before the pandemic have risen to the top 10.

The airports in Charlotte, North Carolina (No. 6); Orlando, Florida (No. 7); and Las Vegas (No. 10) are new in the top 10 this year. Vacation magnets Orlando and Las Vegas were number 31 and number 30 for passenger traffic before the pandemic in 2019.

The United States’ strong position in the top 10 is a turning point from 2020, when airports in China took up seven of the top 10 slots.

China’s dominance in 2020 was due to the early recovery of domestic travel in China. The country has still not reopened to international visitors.

“Looking back at 2020, China was one of the first to emerge from the first waves of the pandemic, reaching near full recovery by the end of 2020,” said Patrick Lucas, ACI World vice president of economics.

But in 2021, domestic traffic in China dropped significantly with renewed lockdowns as the United States saw a major jump.

The United States has the world’s largest domestic travel market, followed by China.

Airports that routinely landed in the top 10 of the world’s busiest airports list – such as Dubai International, London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle – were absent during the pandemic.

“The markets with very high international traffic were obviously hurt as a result of all these restrictions and quarantine requirements,” Lucas said.

The important role of international traffic is also one of the reasons why Beijing’s Capital and Shanghai’s Pudong International airports have dropped out of the top 10. new Daxing International Airport in the city.

Dubai International Airport, where much of the international traffic takes place, fell out of the top 10 busiest airports in 2021. However, it remained number 1 for international passengers in 2021.

Elena/Adobe Stock

Reverse Restrictions

ACI is advocating a “risk-based approach” to easing travel restrictions, following Covid-19 data, Lucas said.

“Vaccines were really the passport to travel, but as we can see now, a lot of big markets are opening up and … a lot of countries have come to realize that curtailing travel or imposing travel restrictions doesn’t really do anything,” he said. said.

“If anything, it causes even more damage, meaning it disrupts the socio-economic benefits of air transport and tourism and so on.”

As it stands, ACI expects total passenger numbers to recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2024.

However, strong domestic markets, including the United States, are expected to recover by 2023. And markets with much of the international traffic aren’t expected to recover until 2025, Lucas said.

Worldwide there are “different forces that move in opposite directions”.

There is very strong pent-up demand and the lifting of restrictions that have dampened travel against rising travel costs and geopolitical concerns about what is happening in Eastern Europe, Lucas said.

But overall, ACI is optimistic. “We have the feeling that consumers, passengers, will, as it were, be blown away, despite the increase in travel costs.”