Georgia's Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is once again the world's busiest airport.
The US airport was knocked off its No. 1 perch to the No. 2 slot in passenger volume in 2020 by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China, breaking the Atlanta airport's 22-year streak in the top slot.
Guangzhou's airport dropped to No. 8 in 2021, with 40.3 million passengers. Another airport in China, Chengdu's Shuangliu International Airport, is ninth on the 2021 list, down from No. 3 in 2020. "Although we are cautious that recovery could face multiple headwinds, the momentum created by reopening plans by countries could lead to an uptick in travel in the second half of 2022," de Oliveira said.
The United States' strong showing in the top 10 is a reversal from 2020, when airports in China took seven of the top 10 slots. But in 2021, domestic traffic in China dropped significantly with renewed lockdowns, while the United States saw a big jump.Airports that routinely landed in the top 10 of the world's busiest airports list -- such as Dubai International, London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle -- have been absent during the pandemic.