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Air travel is proving increasingly popular, with airports across the globe reporting rising passenger numbers in recent years. After trawling through several reports, Aviation Business provides an extensive guide to the world's 10 busiest hubs.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport started operations in 1925 on a site that was once an abandoned auto racetrack. It has grown from those humble origins to become the most used airport in the world. From earlier successes, 1980 saw completion of the hub's midfield terminal, which increased capacity to 50 million passengers a year. The airport is located 10km outside the central business district of Atlanta, making it a key US transfer point for thousands of domestics flights throughout the year.
More than 86 million passengers travelled through the hub this year - 10 million more than the next most frequently used airport. It also transported the second largest amount of cargo among the top 10 airports, shifting more than 700,000 tonnes in the 12 months to June 2007. It is one of few airports capable of handling simultaneous landings and take offs for three planes.
The airport's operators plan to continually modify the hub after securing permission to spend US$5.4 billion on a development program that will take 10 years.
A fifth runway was opened at the airport in 2006 - the first since 1984 - for $1.2 billion. This project added a further 9000 ft of runway to the airport's existing capacity.
A new consolidated rental car facility is being built with an 8700 vehicle capacity. This project is expected to complete by 2009. Ben DeCosta, general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, has also authorised a redesign of the Maynard H Jackson International Terminal (MHJIT). "We are pleased to get this important project back on track," DeCosta says.
"Our international passenger traffic has more than doubled since we hosted the 1996 Olympics, and we expect this trend to continue.
At the world's busiest passenger airport it's critical that we remain focused on the future, creating world class facilities that will keep pace with demand." The Maynard terminal project is expected to be constructed within the next four years.
When finished, it will contribute to the airport's operation, which is served by some 32 passenger airlines and 19 cargo airlines.
Other established carriers operating from the hub include Delta Air Lines, AirTran Airways, Delta Connection and Atlantic Southeast Airlines.
O'Hare International Airport
O'Hare International Airport, located in Chicago, Illinois, was initially opened as a US warplane manufacturing plant in 1943. Its airport code, ORD, refers to the name pilots gave it during the war. Indeed, Orchard Place was a small community located where the airport now operates from. Following the war, the hub housed rare and experimental planes, including captured enemy aircraft. The airport was named after Edward "butch" O'Hare, who is considered one of America's greatest fighter pilots.
The first commercial passenger flights took place in 1955. O'Hare International Airport's first international terminal was built in 1958 and by 1965 it was the world's busiest, serving 10 million passengers a year. So far, 76 million passengers have travelled through the airport's four passenger terminals in 2007. The airport is municipally connected to Chicago via a small strip of land located 29km from the city. This strip was added to the city's boundary in the 1950s to ensure the airport remained under Chicago's control.
The government has recently commissioned the O'Hare Modernization Program (OMP), a $6.6 billion initiative that aims to reconfigure the airport's runways into a more modern, parallel layout. Once completed, the airport is expected to experience fewer delays.
Analysts believe this initiative, which requires a further 433 acres of land, will help increase economic activity to $56 billion from $38 billion a year.
The first phase of the project is underway, with the first additional runway expected to be up and running by 2009.
This modernisation is spurred on by production of the new A380 Super-Jumbo. As part of the OMP, two of the airport's runways were earmarked for widening. This work was completed earlier this year.
