World Airport Rankings 2010: Big changes to global Top 30. Beijing up to #2, Heathrow falls to #4
The rankings of the world's busiest airports for 2010 have yielded some key developments in global aviation. Beijing Capital Airport has surged into second place behind Atlanta, leapfrogging London Heathrow, which has also dropped below Chicago O'Hare, according to Airports Council International (ACI).
- Beijing Capital Airport has surpassed London Heathrow and Chicago O'Hare to become the second busiest airport in the world, after Atlanta.
- Shanghai Pudong Airport has seen significant growth, jumping 14 places to reach the 20th position in the global rankings.
- Jakarta and Singapore have also shown notable improvements, climbing several places in the rankings.
- Only two airports in the top 30, Las Vegas and London Heathrow, experienced a decline in passenger traffic in 2010.
- The Asia Pacific region has become the largest aviation market, with Asia projected to account for 30% of global traffic by 2014.
- The growth in emerging markets, particularly in Asia, highlights the need for increased investment in airport infrastructure to meet the rising demand for air travel.
The biggest improver in this year's list was Shanghai Pudong Airport, which surged 14 places to 20th position just behind Mainland Chinese counterpart Guangzhou (which rose three places). Shanghai Pudong, which reported a 27.2% increase in passenger traffic last year, replaces Newark in the global Top 30.
See CAPA's related World Airport Rankings 2010 reports:
- Cargo: Hong Kong eclipses Memphis as the world's busiest cargo hub
- Aircraft Movements: US airports dominate, Atlanta still biggest. Tokyo Haneda into Top 30
Other notable performers included Jakarta, which jumped seven places to 16th largest, and Singapore - which rose from 21st to 18th place. Dubai gained two places to 13th.
Only two airports in the Top 30 did not grow in 2010, Las Vegas (-2.6%) and London Heathrow (-0.2%). Charlotte (+10.4%) was the only large airport outside the Asia Pacific region and Middle East growing by more than 10%.
NB: Click on any of the airport codes in the table below to view detailed schedule and fares data, as well as news and analysis.
World's Top 30 Airports by Passenger Numbers: 2010
|
Airport |
Passengers |
% change |
Rank 2010 |
Rank 2009 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Atlanta (ATL) |
89,331,622 |
1.5 |
1 |
1 |
- |
|
Beijing (PEK) |
73,891,801 |
13 |
2 |
3 |
+1 |
|
Chicago (ORD) |
66,665,390 |
3.3 |
3 |
4 |
+1 |
|
London (LHR) |
65,884,143 |
-0.2 |
4 |
2 |
-2 |
|
Tokyo Haneda (HND) |
64,069,098 |
3.4 |
5 |
5 |
- |
|
Los Angeles (LAX) |
58,915,100 |
4.2 |
6 |
7 |
+1 |
|
Paris (CDG) |
58,167,062 |
0.4 |
7 |
6 |
-1 |
|
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) |
56,905,066 |
1.6 |
8 |
8 |
- |
|
Frankfurt (FRA) |
53,009,221 |
4.1 |
9 |
9 |
- |
|
Denver (DEN) |
52,211,242 |
4.1 |
10 |
10 |
- |
|
Hong Kong (HKG) |
50,410,819 |
10.6 |
11 |
13 |
+2 |
|
Madrid (MAD) |
49,786,202 |
2.8 |
12 |
11 |
-1 |
|
Dubai (DXB) |
47,180,628 |
15.4 |
13 |
15 |
+2 |
|
New York (JFK) |
46,495,876 |
1.4 |
14 |
12 |
-2 |
|
Amsterdam (AMS) |
45,211,749 |
3.8 |
15 |
14 |
-1 |
|
Jakarta (CGK) |
43,981,022 |
18.4 |
16 |
23 |
+7 |
|
Bangkok (BKK) |
42,784,967 |
5.6 |
17 |
16 |
-1 |
|
Singapore (SIN) |
42,038,777 |
13 |
18 |
21 |
+3 |
|
Guangzhou (CAN) |
40,975,253 |
10.6 |
19 |
22 |
+3 |
|
Shanghai (PVG) |
40,582,356 |
27.2 |
20 |
34 |
+14 |
|
Houston (IAH) |
40,475,058 |
1.2 |
21 |
18 |
-3 |
|
39,397,359 |
-2.6 |
22 |
17 |
-5 |
|
|
San Francisco (SFO) |
39,254,634 |
5.1 |
23 |
20 |
-3 |
|
Phoenix (PHX) |
38,552,409 |
1.9 |
24 |
19 |
-5 |
|
Charlotte (CLT) |
38,143,078 |
10.4 |
25 |
24 |
-1 |
|
Rome (FCO) |
36,228,490 |
7.4 |
26 |
27 |
+1 |
|
Sydney (SYD) |
35,992,164 |
7.6 |
27 |
28 |
+1 |
|
Miami (MIA) |
35,698,025 |
5.3 |
28 |
25 |
-3 |
|
Orlando (MCO) |
34,877,507 |
3.5 |
29 |
26 |
-3 |
|
Munich (MUC) |
34,721,605 |
6.2 |
30 |
30 |
- |
Big shifts towards emerging markets - more investment needed
The Asia Pacific region overtook North America as the largest aviation market in 2009. By 2014, Asia will account for 30% of global traffic, while North America will fall to 23%. Asia Pacific's carriers are the most profitable, with USD7.7 billion in net profits in 2010, and USD3.7 billion forecast for this year, according to IATA. Of the 800 million new passengers who will fly by 2014, 360 million of them will be in Asia Pacific and 214 million of those in China alone, according to the airline industry body. China overtook Japan last year as the world's second biggest economy behind the US.
ACI World Director General Angela Gittens said: "2010 underscored the resilience of the air transport business and resulted in over 5 billion annual passengers for the first time ever. 2010 also pronounced the shift and divergence in growth across the regions. While North America and Europe have struggled to reach pre-crisis passenger volumes, Asia-Pacific, Latin America-Caribbean and Middle East sustained a strong momentum and gained market share through double digit growth."
Ms Gittens added: "GDP growth projections for this and the coming years are high creating a positive outlook for demand for air transport. This underpins the need to continue to expand and modernize airport infrastructure to maintain high standards of efficiency and customer service. More than ever, airports will be asked to finance these projects autonomously without public funds requiring private and public airports to be empowered to generate necessary returns on their investment."