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Journalism of Courage
World’s Best-Connected Airports 2024: Today, the world is more interconnected than ever, with rapid advancements creating seamless links between people and places across the globe.
Airports, in particular, have emerged as crucial hubs for global connectivity, enabling people to travel across countries and cities as the aviation industry bounces back post pandemic.
Notably, ACI World’s report forecasts global passenger traffic to reach 9.7 billion by the end of 2024, in addition to growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.3% from 2023 to 2042 and 3.6% from 2042 to 2052.
As a result, with the recent resurgence of international air travel, major airports around the world are investing in infrastructure upgrades and expansions to accommodate the surge in traffic.
While we look at the airports for global connectivity, interestingly, the top four are located in Continental Europe, as it serves as a strategic link between North America and Asia, as well as between Africa and the northern regions of Europe, including the UK, Ireland, and the Nordic countries.
This year, surprisingly, IGA Istanbul Airport has emerged as the world’s best-connected airport, according to recent data from Cirium covering the first two quarters of 2024.
Established just six years ago in 2018, this relatively new airport operates and connects an impressive 309 nonstop flights to destinations worldwide.
IGA Istanbul Airport benefits immensely from its strategic location at the intersection of Europe and Asia, serving more African destinations.
Additionally, about 90 million passengers pass through this major international gateway annually, making it the world’s seventh busiest and tenth best airport.
This positions it as a crucial global transit hub, and more likely this trend is expected to continue for years to come.
| Rank | Name of the Airport | Country | No. of destinations |
| 1 | Istanbul Airport | Turkey | 309 |
| 2 | Frankfurt Airport | Germany | 296 |
| 3 | Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport | France | 282 |
| 4 | Amsterdam Schiphol Airport | Netherlands | 270 |
| 4 | Chicago O’Hare International Airport | United States | 270 |
| 6 | Dubai International Airport | United Arab Emirates | 269 |
| 7 | Dallas Fort Worth International Airport | United States | 261 |
| 8 | Shanghai Pudong International Airport | China | 243 |
| 9 | Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport | United States | 237 |
| 10 | Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport | Italy | 234 |
Source: Cirium
Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in New Delhi, India, has solidified its position as India’s premier aviation hub, serving as a vital gateway for both domestic and international travel.
Recording 73.7 million passengers in FY2024, with a growth of 13% YoY, IGI Delhi Airport has ranked as the world’s 10th busiest airport by passenger traffic, as per the Airports Council International (ACI) rankings for 2023–24.
It’s worth noting that the IGI Delhi Airport has also been ranked as the best airport in India and South Asia for the sixth time in a row, ranking 36th in 2024 among all global airports by Skytrax.
Emerging as a new international hub airport in South and Southeast Asia, IGI is presently connected with more to 149 destinations with 58 foreign carriers and 9 Indian carriers, as mentioned in the IGI official website.
On a different note, Noida International Airport, also known as Jewar Airport, is being proposed to become the largest airport in India, and it will be ready for operations by the end of this year, Civil Aviation Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, recently stated in Lok Sabha.
Scindia also stated that India is now the fifth-largest aviation market in the world with regard to both domestic and international passengers, and by 2030, it will become the third-largest market in the world.
