Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) has emerged as one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs, handling more than 78 million passengers in 2025, according to Airports Council International (ACI) data.
With 78,148,081 passengers passing through the airport during the year, IGI ranked 11th globally. It was also the only Indian airport to make it to the top 20 list.
IGI handles 78.1 million passengers
IGI recorded a marginal increase in passenger traffic compared with 2024, when it handled around 77.8 million passengers. The year-on-year growth stood at 0.42 per cent.
ACI’s rankings include both departing and arriving passengers, while transit passengers are counted only once. This allows airports across different countries to be compared using the same methodology.
The Delhi airport’s ranking puts it ahead of several major international gateways, including airports in Seoul, Los Angeles and Paris.
Atlanta remains world’s busiest airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport retained the top position globally, recording 106,302,208 passengers in 2025.
Dubai International Airport followed in second place with 95,192,160 passengers, while Tokyo Haneda Airport ranked third with 91,679,814.
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport completed the top five with 85,660,127 and 84,994,548 passengers respectively.
Chicago O’Hare, London Heathrow, Istanbul and Guangzhou Baiyun occupied the next four positions. Denver International Airport rounded off the top 10 with 82,427,962 passengers.
Delhi ahead of Seoul, LA and Paris
Delhi’s 78.1 million passengers placed it just behind Denver. Seoul Incheon recorded 74,126,912 passengers, followed by Los Angeles International Airport with 73,709,594.
Paris Charles de Gaulle handled 72,029,407 passengers, while Beijing Capital International Airport recorded 70,742,712.
Singapore Changi, Amsterdam Schiphol, Madrid-Barajas, Shenzhen Bao’an and Kuala Lumpur International Airport completed the top 20.
Global air travel crosses pre-pandemic levels
Airports worldwide handled approximately 9.8 billion passengers in 2025, marking a 3.7 per cent increase from 2024 and 6.5 per cent growth over 2019 levels.
The figures underline the continued expansion of global air travel, with Delhi’s IGI emerging as one of the major hubs driving that growth.