World's busiest airport

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World's busiest airport is a claim that is fiercely fought over by the owners of the world's largest airports. The definition of busiest has been specified by the Airports Council International in Geneva, Switzerland.[1] The ACI defines and measures the following 3 types of airport traffic:

  • Passenger Traffic- total passengers enplaned and deplaned, passengers in transit counted once.[2]
  • Cargo Traffic- loaded and unloaded freight and mail in metric tonnes.[3]
  • Traffic Movements- landings and take-offs of aircraft.[4]

The following airports have variously made claims (or had claims made for them):

Contents

[edit] The World's Busiest Airports

The following airports make claims based on objective volume measures which are well defined and widely accepted within the aviation industry:

Largest number of passengers annually. (1998–2008)[5] Over 17% busier than the world's second busiest airport by passenger volume, and this gap is growing.
Most arrivals and departures ("operations") annually. (1999–2000, 2005–2007).[6] In 2007, Hartsfield again set the world's record for most aircraft movements in one year with 994,346.[7]
Most destinations served.[8]
Most cargo traffic by volume annually. (1993–2006)[9]
Largest number of international passengers annually (2004–present)[10]

[edit] Other current claims

The following airports also make claims based on objective measures, but some of the claims are based on traffic classification:

Most originating or terminating (i.e., non-connecting) passengers.[citation needed]
World's busiest general aviation airport (take-offs and landings annually).[citation needed]
World's busiest single runway airport (passengers)[11]
Most international destinations served.

[edit] Historical claims

Held from 1932 until O'Hare took the title in 1962, Midway was the world's busiest airport by passenger and aircraft movements. Before World War II, Chicago Midway was the origin or destination of one in four U.S. airline flights.[12]
Largest number of passengers annually (before 1998)
Most arrivals and departures annually (before 1998, 2001–2004).
O'Hare Airport is currently declining in all categories of volume: passengers, cargo and movements.[4]
The world's busiest domestic-only airport until service to Seoul started. Busiest airport in Japan and Asia.
The worlds busiest domestic-only airport until service began to Tokyo in October 2007. It only handles 19.3 million passengers, but only defeated Chicago Midway International Airport by around 0.5 million passengers. The international passenger services are served by Shanghai Pudong International Airport, which handles around 60% of the traffic within Shanghai. It is 15th busiest in Asia and 62nd busiest in the world.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Airports Welcome Record 4.4 Billion Passengers in 2006. Airports Council International. Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
  2. ^ Passenger Traffic 2007 Preliminary. Airports Council International. Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
  3. ^ Cargo Traffic 2007 Preliminary. Airports Council International. Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
  4. ^ a b Traffic Movements 2007 Preliminary. Airports Council International. Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
  5. ^ Atlanta Hartsfield Earns 'World's Busiest' Title Once Again. Aero-News Network. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  6. ^ Traffic Movements 2006 FINAL. Airports Council International (2007-07-18). Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  7. ^ Year-to-Date Airport Traffic Report. Department of Aviation, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (December 2007). Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
  8. ^ "FAA: Atlanta airport is nation's busiest", USATODAY.com, 2007-04-01. Retrieved on 2008-03-07. 
  9. ^ "Memphis takes cargo top spot in 2006", Air Cargo News, 2007-03-12. Retrieved on 2008-03-07. 
  10. ^ Top ten world airports - 2004 (PDF). Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  11. ^ BAA Gatwick: About BAA Gatwick. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  12. ^ Michelle Mullins (1999-07-18). Region leads the way in flight. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.

[edit] External links

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