Chicago O’Hare surpasses Atlanta as world’s busiest airport by flight movements

Despite American Airlines’ recent expansion at O'Hare—now operating 912 daily movements—the airline’s presence remains down by 6% compared to October 2019. The company has focused on growing other hubs but shifted some attention back to Chicago in 2025, partly due to efforts to secure more gates at the airport; however, United ultimately secured those gates.

American Airlines added service from O'Hare to 20 destinations since last October. These include Akron/Canton, Anchorage, Bismarck, Boise, Chattanooga, Colorado Springs, Destin-Ft. Walton Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Halifax, Hilton Head, Honolulu, Idaho Falls, Madrid (Spain), Mexico City (Mexico), Naples (Italy), Roanoke (Virginia), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Savannah (Georgia), Spokane (Washington), and Wilmington (North Carolina). Most of these routes have been served previously.

The list of the world's ten busiest airports for October includes several US fortress hubs as well as international gateways such as London Heathrow Airport and Istanbul Airport—the latter entering the top ten this year due to rapid growth. Tokyo Haneda dropped out of the ranking while Istanbul replaced it.

If different metrics were used—such as total seats for sale or available seat miles—the rankings would change: Atlanta would lead in seats and passengers while Dubai would rank first for available seat miles because of its extensive long-haul network.

Apart from London Heathrow Airport, Istanbul Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport—all with significant international traffic—the remaining top ten airports primarily serve large domestic markets. Beijing Capital International Airport might have remained among the busiest if not for flight redistribution following Beijing Daxing’s opening in 2019.

The current rankings reflect ongoing shifts in global air travel patterns and highlight how airlines’ strategic decisions impact airport activity levels.