Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport ranked 9th busiest in the world in 2022

The IGI Airport is the only airport from south and southeast Asia to feature in the top 10 list.

Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has secured the ninth position in the list of the world's busiest airports in 2022, handling 59.5 million passengers annually. The data was shared by the Airports Council International (ACI) World, a global organisation that assesses airport standards. This marks a significant improvement for IGI Airport, which was ranked 13th in 2021 and 17th in 2019 before the pandemic.

The IGI Airport is the only airport from south and southeast Asia to feature in the top 10 list. The top 10 airports for total passenger traffic, representing 10% of global traffic, saw a gain of 51.7% from 2021. The overall passenger traffic at these airports, however, was around 85% in comparison to 2019 figures. ACI reported that with the resumption of international travel, 2022 global passenger traffic reached close to 7 billion, representing a 53.5% increase from 2021, or a 73.8% recovery from 2019.

The ACI report also revealed that the IGI Airport experienced a 60.2% increase in passenger traffic as compared to last year. However, passenger traffic remains 13.1% lower than the 2019 figures, suggesting that even though passenger traffic has stabilised, it is yet to reach pre-pandemic levels.

The world's busiest airport, Georgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, remained at the top spot in 2022, with 93.6 million passengers. IGI Airport ranked one position behind London's Heathrow Airport, which handled 61.6 million passengers, while Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport was the 10th busiest airport in the world, handling 57.4 million passengers.

Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO of International Airport Limited (DIAL), the operator of the IGI Airport, expressed his satisfaction over the achievement and said that the Delhi airport believes in being future-ready while ensuring global standards of passenger experience for travellers. He further added that this feat was the result of the collective efforts of all stakeholders, and the Indian aviation sector is writing a new chapter with the Delhi airport working closely with the central government to make it a success story.

ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira lauded the resilience of the airport and aviation industry, and the eagerness of passengers to travel by air. He stated that the ongoing recovery of air travel demand would not be possible without the continuous work of airports to provide a safe, secure, efficient, and sustainable air transport ecosystem for the passengers and communities they serve.