If you’re traveling a lot then you’re surely to have passed some of these enormous airports. If you haven’t then of course you must at least have heard of them!
These are the 25 busiest airports in the world, sorted by number of total passengers that went through in 2012.
Happy travels!
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- Location: Phoenix, Arizona, United States
- Airport codes:
- IATA: PHX
- ICAO: KPHX
- FAA LID: PHX
- Total passengers in 2012: 40,448,932
- Average daily aircraft operations: 1,200+
- Number of terminals: 3
- Number of gates: 106
- Number of runways: 3
McCarran International Airport
- Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
- Airport codes:
- IATA: LAS
- ICAO: KLAS
- FAA LID: LAS
- Total passengers in 2012: 40,799,830
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,440+
- Number of terminals: 2 (3 standing, but Terminal 2 was closed in 2012 and will be demolished at a later date)
- Number of gates: 110
- Number of runways: 4
Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
- Airport codes:
- IATA: CLT
- ICAO: KCLT
- FAA LID: CLT
- Total passengers in 2012: 41,228,372
- Average daily aircraft operations: 1,500+
- Number of terminals: 1 terminal, divided in 5 concourses
- Number of gates: 97
- Number of runways: 4 (5th in planning)
San Francisco International Airport
- Location: San Mateo County, California, United States
- Airport codes:
- IATA: SFO
- ICAO: KSFO
- FAA LID: SFO
- Total passengers in 2012: 44,477,209
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,150+
- Number of terminals: 4
- Number of gates: 101
- Number of runways: 4
Shanghai Pudong International Airport
- Chinese: 上海浦东国际机场
- Location: Pudong, Shanghai, China
- Airport codes:
- IATA: PVG
- ICAO: ZSPD
- Total passengers in 2012: 44,857,200
- Daily aircraft operations (2011): 1,570+
- Number of terminals: 2
- Number of gates: 55
- Number of runways: 3 (4th + 5th in planning)
Atatürk International Airport
- Turkish: İstanbul Atatürk Havalimanı
- Location: Istanbul, Turkey
- Airport codes:
- IATA: IST
- ICAO: LTBA
- Total passengers in 2012: 44,998,508
- Daily aircraft operations: ? (haven’t found this info yet)
- Number of terminals: 4
- Number of gates: 38
- Number of runways: 3
Madrid Barajas Airport
- Location: Madrid, Spain
- Airport codes:
- IATA: MAD
- ICAO: LEMD
- Total passengers in 2012: 45,195,014
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,000+
- Number of terminals: 4
- Number of gates: 146
- Number of runways: 4
JFK: John F. Kennedy International Airport
- Location: Queens, New York City, New York, United States
- Airport codes:
- IATA: JFK
- ICAO: KFJK
- FAA LID: JFK
- Total passengers in 2012: 47,683,529
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,100
- Number of terminals: 6
- Number of gates: 151
- Number of runways: 4
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
- Chinese: 广州白云国际机场
- Location: Huadu, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
- Airport codes:
- IATA: CAN
- ICAO: ZGGG
- Total passengers in 2012: 48,309,410
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,000+
- Number of terminals: 1
- Number of gates: 97
- Number of runways: 2 (3rd under construction)
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
- Location: Haarlemmermeer, North Holland, Netherlands
- Airport codes:
- IATA: AMS
- ICAO: EHAM
- Total passengers in 2012: 51,035,590
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,150+
- Number of terminals: 1 terminal, divided into 3 Halls
- Number of gates: 165
- Number of runways: 6
Singapore Changi Airport
- Location: Changi, East Region, Singapore
- Airport codes:
- IATA: SIN
- ICAO: WSSS
- Total passengers in 2012: 51,181,804
- Daily aircraft operations: 880+
- Number of terminals: 3
- Number of gates: 209
- Number of runways: 3 (one of which restricted to military traffic, to be opened for commercial flights in the near future)
Suvarnabhumi Airport
- Location: Bang Phli, Samut Prakan, Thailand
- Airport codes:
- IATA: BKK
- ICAO: VTBS
- Total passengers in 2012: 53,002,328
- Daily aircraft operations: 850+
- Number of terminals: 1
- Number of gates: 141
- Number of runways: 2
Denver International Airport
- Location: Denver, Colorado, United States
- Airport codes:
- IATA: DEN
- ICAO: KDEN
- FAA LID: DEN
- Total passengers in 2012: 53,156,278
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,700+
- Number of terminals: 1 terminal, 3 concourses
- Number of gates: 103
- Number of runways: 6
Hong Kong International Airport (Chek Lap Kok Airport)
- Chinese: 香港國際機場 赤鱲角機場
- Location: Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, China
- Airport codes:
- IATA: HKG
- ICAO: VHHH
- Total passengers in 2012: 56,057,751
- Daily aircraft operations (max daily capacity): 1,536
- Number of terminals: 2
- Number of gates: 66
- Number of runways: 2
Frankfurt Airport
- German: Flughafen Frankfurt am Main / Rhein-Main-Flughafen
- Location: Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany
- Airport codes:
- IATA: FRA
- ICAO: EDDF
- Total passengers in 2012: 57,527,251
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,300+
- Number of terminals: 2 + 1 small First Class terminal
- Number of gates: 145
- Number of runways: 4
Dubai International Airport
- Location: Garhoud, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Airport codes:
- IATA: DXB
- ICAO: OMDB
- Total passengers in 2012: 57,684,550
- Daily aircraft operations: 940+
- Number of terminals: 3
- Number of gates: 82
- Number of runways: 2
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
- Location: Cengkareng, Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia
- Airport codes:
- IATA: CGK
- ICAO: WIII
- Total passengers in 2012: 57,772,762
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,000+
- Number of terminals: 3 + 1 freight terminal
- Number of gates: 45
- Number of runways: 2
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
- Location: Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, United States
- Airport codes:
- IATA:
- ICAO:
- FAA LID:
- Total passengers in 2012: 58,591,862
- Daily aircraft operations (2011): 1,750+
- Number of terminals: 5
- Number of gates: 155
- Number of runways: 7
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
- French: Aéroport Paris–Charles de Gaulle
- Location: Roissy-en-France, Tremblay-en-France, Mitry-Mory, Île-de-France, France
- Airport codes:
- IATA: CDG
- ICAO: LFPG
- Total passengers in 2012: 61,611,934
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,350+
- Number of terminals: 3 main terminals, divided in 9 sub-terminals
- Number of gates: Many, need a professor to do the math
- Number of runways: 4
LAX: Los Angeles International Airport
- Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
- Airport codes:
- IATA: LAX
- ICAO: KLAX
- FAA LID: LAX
- Total passengers in 2012: 63,688,121
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,640+
- Number of terminals: 9
- Number of gates: 113
- Number of runways: 4
O’Hare International Airport
- Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Airport codes:
- IATA: ORD
- ICAO: KORD
- FAA LID: ORD
- Total passengers in 2012: 66,633,503
- Daily aircraft operations: 2,400+
- Number of terminals: 4
- Number of gates: 182
- Number of runways: 8
Tokyo International Airport (Tokyo Haneda Airport)
- Japanese: 東京国際空港
- Location: Ōta, Tokyo, Japan
- Airport codes:
- IATA: HND
- ICAO: RJTT
- Total passengers in 2012: 66,795,178
- Daily aircraft operations:
- Number of terminals: 3
- Number of gates: 27
- Number of runways: 4
London Heathrow Airport
- Location: Hillingdon, London, United Kingdom
- Airport codes:
- IATA: LHR
- ICAO: EGLL
- Total passengers in 2012: 70,037,417
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,300+
- Number of terminals: 5 (Terminal 2 under reconstruction until mid 2014)
- Number of gates: Lost count, anyone?
- Number of runways: 2
Beijing Capital International Airport
- Chinese: 北京首都国际机场
- Location: Chaoyang, Beijing, China
- Airport codes:
- IATA: LHR
- ICAO: EGLL
- Total passengers in 2012: 81,929,359
- Daily aircraft operations: 1,500+
- Number of terminals: 3
- Number of gates: for some reason incredibly un-transparent information
- Number of runways: 3
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
- Airport codes:
- IATA: ATL
- ICAO: KATL
- FAA LID: ATL
- Total passengers in 2012: 95,462,867
- Daily aircraft operations: 2,600+
- Number of terminals: 1 terminal, divided into 7 concourses
- Number of gates: 199
- Number of runways: 5