And the world’s busiest airport is …

Katia Hetter, CNN
Updated 1:28 PM EDT, Mon May 5, 2014
It was a regular day at the world's busiest airport, complete with the messes and victories of everyday life. On August 28, 2013, CNN spent 24 hours at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. See everything we found at <a href="http://cnn.com/atl24">CNN.com/ATL24</a>.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
It was a regular day at the world's busiest airport, complete with the messes and victories of everyday life. On August 28, 2013, CNN spent 24 hours at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. See everything we found at CNN.com/ATL24.
David Walter Banks for CNN
Passengers wait for flights in the International Terminal.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Passengers wait for flights in the International Terminal.
Kendrick Brinson for CNN
The interior of a cargo plane is barren as it awaits loading at the airport's UPS facility.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
The interior of a cargo plane is barren as it awaits loading at the airport's UPS facility.
John Nowak/CNN
Friends and family wait for Holly Houston in the arrivals lobby of the Domestic Terminal.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Friends and family wait for Holly Houston in the arrivals lobby of the Domestic Terminal.
Kendrick Brinson for CNN
People ride an escalator near Concourse E.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
People ride an escalator near Concourse E.
Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN
Shannon Nevin, 4, waits with her family at gate A21 for a flight to Savannah, Georgia.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Shannon Nevin, 4, waits with her family at gate A21 for a flight to Savannah, Georgia.
Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN
A view out the window on the upper level of Concourse D.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
A view out the window on the upper level of Concourse D.
David Walter Banks for CNN
A server at One Flew South heads to the kitchen.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
A server at One Flew South heads to the kitchen.
Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN
Tiffanie Barriere serves a drink behind the bar at One Flew South on Concourse E.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Tiffanie Barriere serves a drink behind the bar at One Flew South on Concourse E.
Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN
People pass through the Domestic Terminal atrium.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
People pass through the Domestic Terminal atrium.
Kendrick Brinson for CNN
Sgt. Vito Wallace exits the elevator and heads into the Domestic Terminal atrium.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Sgt. Vito Wallace exits the elevator and heads into the Domestic Terminal atrium.
Jeremy Freeman/CNN
Mi Ja Choi sits in the atrium of the Domestic Terminal. Police say they don't know how she was injured. Repeated attempts to follow up with her or her family have been unsuccessful.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Mi Ja Choi sits in the atrium of the Domestic Terminal. Police say they don't know how she was injured. Repeated attempts to follow up with her or her family have been unsuccessful.
Jeremy Freeman/CNN
Medic 3 -- a 10-year-old ambulance -- sits outside Fire Station 32, next to the tarmac near Concourse A.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Medic 3 -- a 10-year-old ambulance -- sits outside Fire Station 32, next to the tarmac near Concourse A.
Jeremy Freeman/CNN
Passengers are reflected in the ceiling of the Domestic Terminal atrium.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Passengers are reflected in the ceiling of the Domestic Terminal atrium.
David Walter Banks for CNN
A MAC Cosmetics trainee applies makeup to employee Ashley White.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
A MAC Cosmetics trainee applies makeup to employee Ashley White.
David Walter Banks for CNN
Jodi Ferrill and her five children wait for a connecting flight to Denver.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Jodi Ferrill and her five children wait for a connecting flight to Denver.
Kendrick Brinson for CNN
A corkboard full of military patches and souvenirs is mounted to the wall of a Starbucks near a security checkpoint. Employees say troops who come through the airport offer the patches as a way of saying thanks, since the coffee shop won't let them pay.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
A corkboard full of military patches and souvenirs is mounted to the wall of a Starbucks near a security checkpoint. Employees say troops who come through the airport offer the patches as a way of saying thanks, since the coffee shop won't let them pay.
Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN
William Talton cleans the baggage carousels.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
William Talton cleans the baggage carousels.
Jeremy Freeman/CNN
A floor cleaner's power cable crosses the carpet.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
A floor cleaner's power cable crosses the carpet.
John Nowak/CNN
A beagle named Vince helps customs officers with inspections.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
A beagle named Vince helps customs officers with inspections.
Mark Hill/CNN
Customs officers check the serial numbers of weapons that arrived on a flight from Johannesburg. It's hunting season in South Africa.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Customs officers check the serial numbers of weapons that arrived on a flight from Johannesburg. It's hunting season in South Africa.
Mark Hill/CNN
Officer Michael Payne, known as Goob, is a member of the Atlanta Police Department's Bomb Tech Squad.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Officer Michael Payne, known as Goob, is a member of the Atlanta Police Department's Bomb Tech Squad.
Brandon Ancil/CNN
Pipes, cables and pumps line the interior of a wheel well on a Southwest Airlines plane.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Pipes, cables and pumps line the interior of a wheel well on a Southwest Airlines plane.
John Nowak/CNN
Delta First Officer Michael Maier does an external inspection of a Delta 777 plane.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Delta First Officer Michael Maier does an external inspection of a Delta 777 plane.
Kendrick Brinson for CNN
The air traffic control tower offers a 360-degree view of the runways.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
The air traffic control tower offers a 360-degree view of the runways.
David Walter Banks for CNN
Inside the Federal Aviation Administration's Terminal Radar Approach Control, or TRACON, Ken Hunihan monitors the systems that air traffic controllers use, including radar antennas and communication towers.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Inside the Federal Aviation Administration's Terminal Radar Approach Control, or TRACON, Ken Hunihan monitors the systems that air traffic controllers use, including radar antennas and communication towers.
Edythe McNamee/CNN
Packages are sorted at the FedEx cargo facility.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Packages are sorted at the FedEx cargo facility.
Edward M. Pio Roda/CNN
A FedEx worker moves containers full of packages at the cargo facility.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
A FedEx worker moves containers full of packages at the cargo facility.
Edward M. Pio Roda/CNN
Airport employees take part in the annual Foreign Object Debris, or FOD, removal walk.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Airport employees take part in the annual Foreign Object Debris, or FOD, removal walk.
Edward M. Pio Roda/CNN
Passengers take the escalator to ground transportation and baggage claim.
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport —
Passengers take the escalator to ground transportation and baggage claim.
Kendrick Brinson for CNN
ATL24: Inside the world's busiest airport

Story highlights

The busiest airport in the world saw fewer passengers last year than in 2012

Beijing's airport saw an increase in passengers in 2013

Dubai's airport jumped three spots to finish in seventh place

CNN  — 

It’s probably no surprise to anyone who has flown through Atlanta that the city’s airport is still the busiest passenger airport in the world.

Some 94.4 million passengers went through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2013, a decrease of 1.1% from 2012, according to Airports Council International’s latest passenger traffic results for 2013.

Beijing Capital International Airport was in second place with 83.7 million passengers in 2013, an increase of 2.2% over 2012.

London Heathrow Airport remained in third place with 72.4 million passengers, an increase of 3.3%, according to ACI, the worldwide association of airports.

Tokyo International Airport (Haneda), Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport were in fourth, fifth and sixth places respectively, rankings that remained unchanged from 2012. Dubai jumped from 10th to seventh place with 66.4 million passengers last year and a 15% increase in traffic.

“With double-digit growth rates in passenger traffic for 2013, Dubai is likely to move up several spots again in the 2014 rankings, solidifying its status as the major hub connecting the east and west,” ACI World’s Economics Director Rafael Echevarne said in a press release.

“Aviation’s nucleus appears to be moving eastward,” he said. “Other emerging markets such as Turkey, China and South East Asia that have a critical mass of traffic also remain major contributors to the upward surge in air transport demand. This trend will continue into 2014.”

Paris dropped from seventh to eighth place, Dallas/Fort Worth was ninth and Jakarta, Indonesia, was in tenth place.

#ATL24: Behind the scenes at the world’s busiest airport

Passenger traffic grew around the world last year, with the world’s airports serving 6.3 billion passengers in 2013, up 4.6% from 2012, according to the report.

Atlanta’s airport also ranked first in airplane movements (takeoffs and landings), with 911,000 movements last year. O’Hare came in second with 883,000 movements and LAX was third with 696,000 movements. Rounding out that list were DFW; Denver; Beijing; Charlotte, North Carolina; Las Vegas; Houston and Paris.

Hong Kong’s airport is still the busiest cargo airport in the world, transporting nearly 4.2 million metric tons of cargo last year. Memphis, Tennessee, home to FedEx, came in second with 4.1 million metric tons. Shanghai was third with 2.9 million metric tons. (One metric ton is 2,205 pounds.)

Rounding out the top 10 were cargo airports in Incheon, South Korea; Dubai; Anchorage, Alaska; Louisville, Kentucky; Frankfurt, Germany; Paris; and Tokyo (Narita).

The ACI World Airport Traffic Report was based on reports from nearly 2,000 airports in 160 countries worldwide.

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