Guangzhou displaces Atlanta as Chinese airports dominate latest ranking

Guangzhou Baiyun displaced Atlanta Hartsfield as the world’s busiest airport in 2020, as Chinese facilities shot up the global ranking to dominate the top 10, according to preliminary data released by ACI World in late April.

In a ranking that tends to see incremental changes in ‘normal’ times, the shake-up seen this year is explained by a combination of two factors, underpinned by globally depressed passenger demand for most of 2020: large domestic markets in China and the USA, which offered a rare outlet for capacity during the pandemic; and the devastating impact of travel restrictions on the large hubs that rely heavily on international traffic and traditionally sit at the top of the rankings.

Amid that dynamic, China Southern Airlines’ Guangzhou hub handled the most passengers in 2020, having ranked just outside the top 10 in 2019. Chengdu and Shenzhen airports joined Guangzhou in the top five, both having leapfrogged more than 20 airports to get there.

Also boosted by a large domestic market, Atlanta Hartsfield dropped to second place in a list that features two other US airports and seven in China.

No airport escaped the impact of the pandemic, however, with passenger numbers falling by between 27% and 66% year on year across the top 10, ACI World data shows.

“The findings show that the [crisis] impact remains uneven with different regions experiencing different challenges and requiring different policy decisions and support from governments to lay the foundation for recovery,” says Luis Felipe de Oliveira, director general of ACI World.

Among the biggest movers at the top of the ranking, Shanghai Hongqiao airport rose from 46^th position for 2019 traffic to 9^th in 2020, according to the ACI World data, overtaking Shanghai Pudong along the way. The biggest mover among US airports in the top 10 was Denver International, which jumped from 16^th to 7^th.

The might of the respective pre-crisis domestic airline markets in China and the USA is reflected in figures previously released by airline industry body IATA, which show that the latter’s domestic market alone accounted for 14% of global airline traffic in 2019, with China’s at almost 10%.

The seven airports to have dropped out of the global top 10 since 2019 are all facilities best known as international hubs: Los Angeles International, Dubai International, Tokyo Haneda, Shanghai Pudong, Chicago O’Hare International, London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

In the ranking of airports by international passengers only in 2020, Dubai International, Amsterdam Schiphol and London Heathrow held on to the top three spots amid swingeing reductions in passengers handled of between 60% and 83% across the top 10.

The relatively strong performance of the international air cargo sector in 2020 – where a lack of bellyhold capacity drove up yields, despite demand being lower year on year – saw the top 10 airports stay largely in line with pre-crisis rankings when metric tonnes of freight handled is considered, with Hong Kong International the runaway leader.

When domestic freight is added to the mix, Memphis airport pips Hong Kong to top spot.

ACI World reports that overall global passenger traffic was down 64.6% year on year in 2020, with cargo volumes falling 8.9%.