Airports play a crucial role in connecting people and facilitating global travel. While the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the aviation industry, some airports have shown resilience and experienced impressive growth since 2019. Six airports have even grown by more than 20% over the period, according to a report by Cirium.

Tourism, a driver of growth for many airports

Cancun International Airport (CUN) is by far the star performer, with a 37% increase in seat capacity since 2019. Driven by increasing demand for beach destinations, resulting in airlines adding more seats. Located in the resort city of Cancun, the airport is a gateway to some of Mexico's most popular tourist destinations, including Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and the Riviera Maya. Cancun stands at nearly 5 million scheduled seats at the end of the second quarter of 2023.

Cancun International Airport
Photo: Alexander Canas Arango/Shutterstock

Over the same period, Miami International Airport (MIA) experienced a 23% capacity increase. The airport is a renowned access point to the Americas, offering routes to many Caribbean destinations, including the Bahamas, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic. Miami reported that this impressive growth was driven mainly by domestic passengers, with a 26% increase in passengers compared to 2019. Miami International Airport’s recovery since the pandemic is the strongest among all US airports.

Tied with Miami, Cairo International Airport (CAI) is one of the busiest airports in Africa and the Middle East.

The airport benefits from popular tourist destinations such as the pyramids of Giza and Luxor. Though its tourism sector took the full brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has known a steady recovery ever since, growing by 23% in seat capacity since 2019. In January 2023, the Egyptian authorities unveiled a new strategy to increase its visitor numbers by up to 30% annually, aiming to hit 30 million tourists by 2028. This includes a revamp of airport infrastructure.

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The 15 airports that have grown the most in seat capacity since 2019

  • Cancun CUN 37%
  • Miami MIA 23%
  • Cairo CAI 23%
  • Istanbul IST 22%
  • Bogota BOG 21%
  • Las Vegas LAS 20%
  • Chongqing CKG 19%
  • Zhengzhou CGO 18%
  • Orlando MCO 16%
  • Sao Paulo CGH 16%
  • Dubai DXB 14%
  • Chi Minh City SGN 14%
  • Newark EWR 13%
  • Denver DEN 13%
  • Bengaluru BLR 12%

As other regions continue to see rapid growth in air travel, European airports are notably absent among the fastest growing in seat capacity. In fact, some of them, such as Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) and Munich International Airport (MUC), are among those that have experienced the most contraction since 2019. There may be several more twists and turns before the year is over.

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What are your thoughts about how the world's fastest-growing airports? What do you make of the overall activity across these destinations? Let us know what you think of the industry and its prospects in the comment section.

Source: Cirium