The latest annual ACI global airport traffic rankings are out:
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Dubai International Airport, Tokyo Haneda Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and Shanghai Pudong International Airport ranked among the global top five. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has re-entered the top ten.
Shanghai Pudong, for example, rose from No. 10 in 2024 to No. 5, jumping five places in just a year and emerging as the clear fastest riser among the top ten.
Notably, last month also saw the release of the 2025 global city rankings by airport passenger traffic. Shanghai, with a combined total of 135 million passengers across Pudong and Hongqiao, entered the global top three for the first time. It also surpassed Tokyo (Haneda + Narita) to become Asia’s busiest aviation city.
A similar rebound is evident in Guangzhou. In 2025, Guangzhou Baiyun handled 83.583 million passengers, rising from No. 12 in 2024 to No. 9 and rejoining the global top ten.
Overall, the top ten ranking points to a more structural shift:
Mature North American markets are seeing slower growth as leading hubs enter a more stable phase, while Chinese airports are accelerating their recovery and moving back onto an upward trajectory. At the same time, Middle Eastern hubs—represented by Istanbul Airport—are reshaping global traffic flows through their expanding transfer networks.
