World's busiest airport

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" is debated as well, with claims being staked on the basis of aircraft operations, cargo traffic or total passengers.

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

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


 * Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
 * Largest number of passengers annually. (1998–2006)
 * Most arrivals and departures ("operations") annually. (1999–2000, 2005–2007).
 * Most destinations served.


 * Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee, United States
 * Most cargo traffic by volume annually. (1993–2006)


 * London Heathrow Airport, Hayes, Greater London, United Kingdom
 * Largest number of international passengers annually (2004)

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


 * Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California, United States
 * Most originating or terminating (i.e., non-connecting) passengers.


 * Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
 * Busiest airport built on an artificial island. It is also 5th busiest in International Passenger traffic.


 * Van Nuys Airport, Los Angeles, California, United States
 * World's busiest general aviation airport (take-offs and landings annually).


 * Gatwick Airport, Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom
 * World's busiest single runway airport (passengers)


 * Frankfurt International Airport, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
 * Most international destinations served.

Historical Claims

 * Chicago Midway International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, United States
 * 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.


 * Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, United States
 * Largest number of passengers annually (before 1998)
 * Most arrivals and departures annually (before 1998, 2001–2004).


 * Tokyo International Airport, Tokyo, Japan (popularly known as Haneda Airport)
 * The world's busiest domestic-only airport until service to Seoul started. However, it is often overshadowed by Narita International Airport, which serves international passengers flying into Tokyo. Busiest airport in Japan and Asia.


 * Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
 * 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.