Dubai Airport (DXB) has reclaimed its top spot as the world’s busiest international airport in terms of seat capacity in October
After almost two years spent with most of their fleets grounded due to the Covid-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns and travel restrictions around the world, the airline industry worldwide is now clearly seeing the end of its most severe turbulence in history as passengers return in strength, allowing many airlines to breathe a sigh of relief.
It is not just the airlines that are breathing easier now, but also the entire aviation sector as airports, having resembled ghost towns for almost two years are now back in action, with a big rush of passengers hurrying to catch their flights or shopping at the duty-free shops.
According to data released by aviation consultancy firm, OAG, there seems to be a strong revival of passenger traffic and a corresponding increase in airline capacity in practically all parts of the world and in both domestic and international travel patterns emerging now.
OAG says that Dubai Airport (DXB) has reclaimed its top spot as the world’s busiest international airport in terms of seat capacity in October, displacing Amsterdam’s Schiphol from its short-lived tenure as the world’s busiest international airport.
Europe leads international travel revival
In a clear sign that cross-border air travel has picked up pace the most in Europe, third and fourth spots in terms of international travel go to Frankfurt in Germany and London’s Heathrow in the United Kingdom. Two more airports in Europe join the list of Top 10 international airports, in sharp jumps from their 2019 position, says OAG.
Turkey’s Antalya airport rose from 32nd place in 2019 to 9th in October 2021, while Austrian capital’s Vienna Airport moved to the 10th rank, up from 22nd in 2019. In all, there were eight European airports in this list of 10 busiest international airports.
Besides Dubai, the only other airport in the list is fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member Doha in Qatar, which stood at 7th place. Doha has gained six spots from October 2019.
Domestic travel stronger in America, Asia
While Europe may dominate the international travel traffic, in domestic and international travel, the Americans dominate the landscape, along with China. Half of the Top 10 Global Airports, by seat capacity, are located in the US. Atlanta (ATL) remains in first place, and Chicago O’Hare (ORD) keeps its second-place spot. China shows its strong revival, mainly of domestic travel, bagging three spots in the Top 10.
Istanbul’s IST airport is the only European contender in the list, ranked at 8th spot, while India’s Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi makes up the Top 10, bagging the 10th spot.
In terms of total numbers of passengers, it is evident that with many international passengers still holding. Back, due to border concerns as well as worries about the remnant of the Covid-19, the traffic is far higher in this list than purely international. For instance, Atlanta counted almost 4.6 million seats in October 2021, almost double of Dubai’s 2.7 million. In fact, the 10th airport in the combined list of domestic and international travel, Delhi, had more capacity than Dubai, the topper of international list, with 2.84 million seats in October.
With the pandemic easing up in many parts of the world and borders slowly reopening, as a number of countries, including India, once again allow international tourists to come, one can expect a major upheaval in both the lists before the year end as Asia and US can be expected to challenge the European domination of international airports’ list in a short while.
Dubai can be, however, expected to figure among the top contenders as it is currently hosting two major global events, Expo 2020 as well as the T20 Cricket World Cup, that it shares with other emirates in the United Arab Emirates. Moreover, the entire UAE is about to enter the peak tourist season, which starts from November and goes all the way until March. Passenger traffic got an instant boost after UAE lifted restrictions on travel from a handful of countries, including India and Pakistan.
