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Heathrow's Fire Will Have Worldwide Ripple Effects. See The Top 10 Busiest Airports.
Heathrow Airport closes due to fire at electrical substation
A fire at an electrical substation near the airport knocked out power, causing major travel disruptions globally.
London’s Heathrow Airport shut down because of a power outage from a large fire nearby, causing massive disruption at one of the world’s busiest travel hubs. The disruption is causing havoc for hundreds of thousands of travelers and having ripple effects worldwide.
While one of the most active airports in the world, Heathrow is not the busiest.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was officially named the busiest worldwide for the second year in a row.
OAG's annual ranking of major airports again has ATL in the top spot after it handled 62.7 million seats in 2024. The aviation analytics firm specifies that it bases its rankings on capacity airlines scheduled through the airports on the list, not the exact number of passengers who flew.
Four of the top ten busiest global airports were in the U.S. last year, with Dallas/Fort Worth at number five, Denver at number six, and Chicago-O'Hare at number 10.
- Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International (ATL)
- Dubai International (DXB)
- Tokyo International - Haneda (HND)
- London Heathrow (LHR)
- Dallas Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
- Denver International (DEN)
- Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN)
- Istanbul (IST)
- Shanghai Pudong International (PVG)
- Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)
“Atlanta’s continued global leadership reflects the airport’s strength as a major connecting hub for both domestic and international capacity, supported by a strong set of base airlines," OAG’s Chief Analyst, John Grant, said in a statement. "Recent developments in both Dallas/Fort Worth and Denver highlight the competitive nature of the market in the United States which results in choices for the connecting traveler market.”
According to OAG, Atlanta saw 2% more capacity in 2024 than the year prior, and all 10 of the busiest global airports saw growth last year.
Shanghai Pudong had the most growth in the top 10, jumping from number 15 in 2023 to number 9 in 2024, with a 29% increase in capacity.
Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver and Chicago all saw capacity up by 5-9%.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.
