The Airports Council International (ACI) World published the ‘Top 10 Busiest Airports Worldwide for 2022,’ which ranked Delhi Airport [Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA)] as the 9th busiest airport in the world in 2022, surpassing Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport in France.
- IGIA improved from its previous positions of 13th in 2021 and 17th in 2019, registering a footfall of 5,94,907 (5.94 crore) passengers in 2022.
- Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL, 93.7 million passengers) in the US is ranked first on the list of the world’s top 10 busiest airports for 2022.
IGIA, operated by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), is the only airport in South and Southeast Asia to make the top 10 list.
- DIAL is a joint venture (JV) established by the consortium between GMR Group (54%), Airports Authority of India (26%), Fraport AG & Eraman Malaysia (10% each).
Delhi Airport
i.Delhi Airport experienced a 17% increase in passenger traffic during the October-December 2022 period compared to the similar period in fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22) (i.e. October-December 2021).
ii.The airport is undergoing a significant expansion project aimed at establishing a fully integrated terminal that houses both departures and arrivals under one roof.
- Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is executing the project, which is projected to be worth USD 850 million.
- During the second phase, a fourth runway about 4,400 metres long and 75 metres wide will be developed.
iii.Videh Kumar Jaipuriar is the CEO of DIAL, the consortium.
Top 10 Busiest Airports Worldwide for 2022
i.According to ACI, the top 10 airports for total passenger traffic, which account for 10% of global traffic, saw a 51.7% increase from 2021, amounting to an 85.9% improvement over their 2019 figures.
ii.Five of the top ten airports in the world are located in the United States (US), and they all have sizable domestic passenger shares (ranging from 75% & 95% of domestic traffic).
iii.Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW, 73.4 million passengers) is in the 2nd spot, followed by Denver International Airport (DEN, 69.3 million passengers) in the 3rd spot, Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD, 68.3 million passengers) in the 4th spot.
iv.Dubai Airport (DXB, 66.1 million passengers, +127%) at 5th rank and Istanbul Airport (IST, 64.3 million passengers, +73.8%) at 7th rank, were also reinstated in the top ten.
- It is followed by London Heathrow Airport, Delhi Airport, and Paris CDG Airport in the 8th, 9th, and 10th places, respectively.
v.With the exception of Los Angeles (LAX), which came in 6th (65.9 million passengers, +37.3%), the other airports in the Top 10 either regained their previous rankings as the busiest gateways in the world (Dubai, London Heathrow, and Paris CDG), or continued their sharp upward trends in terms of passenger growth (Istanbul and Delhi).
| PASSENGERS* | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2019 | Airport | 2022 | % change vs 2022 | % change vs 2019 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), US | 93,699,630 | 23.8 | -15.2 |
| 2 | 2 | 10 | Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW), US | 73,362,946 | 17.5 | -2.3 |
| 3 | 3 | 16 | Denver Airport (DEN), US | 69,286,461 | 17.8 | 0.4 |
| 4 | 4 | 6 | Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD), US | 68,340,619 | 26.5 | -19.3 |
| 5 | 27 | 4 | Dubai Airport (DBX), United Arab Emirates (UAE) | 66,069,981 | 127.0 | -23.5 |
| 6 | 5 | 3 | Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), US | 65,924,298 | 37.3 | -25.1 |
| 7 | 14 | 28 | Istanbul Airport (IST) | 64,289,107 | 73.8 | 23.2 |
| 8 | 54 | 7 | London Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom (UK) | 61,614,508 | 217.7 | -23.8 |
| 9 | 13 | 17 | Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), Delhi, India | 59,490,074 | 60.2 | -13.1 |
| 10 | 31 | 9 | Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, France | 57,474,033 | 119.4 | -24.5 |
PASSENGERS* – Total Passengers enplaned and deplaned, passengers in transit counted once.
Passenger traffic: 2022 global passenger traffic reached close to 7 billion, representing an increase of 53.5% from 2021, or a 73.8% recovery from 2019 results.
Cargo traffic: Air cargo volumes are estimated to have decreased by 6.7% year-over-year (-1.7% versus 2019), to close to 117 million metric tonnes in 2022.
Airports Council International (ACI)
i.Airports Council International (ACI), the trade association for airports globally, was established in 1991.
- Objective: To promote collaboration between its member airports and other aviation organizations, such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO).
ii.ACI is a global federation made up of the following regions: ACI World, ACI Africa, ACI Asia-Pacific, ACI EUROPE, ACI Latin America-Caribbean, and ACI North America.
iii.As of January 2023, ACI serves 712 members, operating 1925 airports in 171 countries.
Recent Related News:
In February 2023, the Union Cabinet approved the ratification of three Protocols on Article 3 bis and Article 50 (a) and Article 56 relating to amendments in the convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), 1944. The three protocols are as follows:
i.Protocol to insert Article 3 bis in the Chicago Convention, 1944 to refrain member states from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight (Protocol signed in May, 1984)
ii.Protocol to amend Article 50 (a) of the Chicago Convention, 1944 for raising the strength of the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) Council from 36 to 40 (Protocol signed in October, 2016)
iii.Protocol to amend Article 56 of the Chicago Convention, 1944 for raising the strength of the Air Navigation Commission from 18 to 21 (Protocol signed in October, 2016)
About Union Territory of Delhi:
Chief Minister (CM) – Arvind Kejriwal
Lieutenant Governor – Vinai Kumar Saxena
Festivals – Lohri; Makar Sankranti
Stadiums – Thyagaraj Sports Complex; Talkatora Indoor Stadium
