ANKARA

Having hosted 43.8 million passengers amid the coronavirus pandemic, Guangzhou Bai Yun International Airport in China became the world's busiest airport last year, the Airports Council International (ACI) said on Thursday.


Global passenger traffic at the world's top 10 busiest airports slipped 45.7% in 2020, compared to previous year, ACI said.


Seven of the top 10 busiest airports are in China and three in the US, with domestic air travel posted a modest rebound while international air travel remained depressed with ongoing travel restrictions, it noted.

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport came in the second with 42.9 million air passengers last year.

It was followed by Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport with 40.7 million passengers and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport with 39.4 million passengers, ACI said.

Air cargo was less impacted by COVID-19, as volumes fell 8.9% year-on-year, to 109 million metric tons in 2020, the data showed.

The figure in the top 10 airports, representing nearly 28% of the global volumes in 2020, rose 3% in the same period, driven by the increase in demand for online consumer goods and pharmaceutical products and personal protective equipment.

Memphis International Airport was the busiest air cargo hub with 4.3 million metric tons of freight, followed by Hong Kong International Airport, and Shanghai Pudong International Airport.


In February, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that global air passenger traffic slipped by 65.9% in 2020 compared to 2019.