Widebody flights – those by twin-aisle aircraft – are always exciting, unless you're in a middle economy seat at the back of an aircraft with an almighty wait to get off and get to a tight connection.

This article examines the world's top 10 widebody airports by flights, seats for sale, and available seat miles (ASMs) in September 2022. There is, of course, a lot of overlap between airports across the three metrics. Dubai, London Heathrow, Istanbul Airport, Singapore, New York JFK, and Paris CDG are in the top 10 no matter how analyzed.

Top widebody airports: flights

Looking at flights – simple take-offs and landings – means that distance isn't considered. This influences results, with Tokyo Haneda (HND) the world's number one airport by nonstop widebody flights, according to the latest Cirium data, with exceptionally few separating it from Dubai. (Nonstop is used rather than one-stop as they both have one departure from the airport in question.)

Over nine in ten of Haneda's widebody flights are domestic, reaffirming the long-time importance of twin aisles in this market. It's why Beijing Capital (in ninth) and Shanghai Hongqiao (tenth) also feature. Haneda's most-served widebody route is the 509 miles (819km) to Sapporo. It has up to 40 daily (!) widebody flights, with the A350-900, B777-200, B767-300ER, B777-300 (non-ER), B787-8, and B787-9 all used.

Stay aware: Sign up for my weekly new routes newsletter.

Top widebody airports: seats

Like flights, seat capacity is a raw metric. It simply shows what airlines have filed and put on sale. While it obviously reflects seats per flight and frequency of service, it doesn't reflect distance. As such, it's not surprising that Haneda and Beijing Capital (PEK) still feature, although Shanghai isn't in the top 10. In its place is Frankfurt, with more seats per flight (304) that offsets fewer flights.

Dubai ranks clear first by this measure, up from the third place in September 2019, overtaking Haneda and Beijing. Of course, Dubai is heavily influenced by Emirates' all-widebody service. Cirium shows that twin aisles have over two-thirds of the UAE airport's seat capacity, against 58% at Haneda and 51% at Heathrow.

High seats per flight play an important role in Dubai's position. They average 381, especially from so many A380s. Across all airlines, 141 routes (really, destinations) will see widebodies from Dubai next month.

Discover more aviation news.

Top widebody airports: ASMs

This final measure is calculated as seats x distance (ASMs). As sector length is now factored in, major cities for international travel and global hubs are more significant. ASMs reflect aircraft capacity, frequency of service, a heavily dominant airline or airlines, and an airport renowned as a global gateway, whether as a hub or city or both, driving route network, flights, seats, and therefore ASMs.

Los Angeles and Amsterdam appear for the first time, but Asian cities, driven by short-haul domestic service, are all out. Heathrow typifies this.

Yes, Heathrow has a passenger cap in place, and flights have been cut, but it still ranks first. After all, it has an enormous BA operation, and many other long-haul operators also serve it. However, Cirium indicates that Heathrow's September widebody ASMs have reduced versus August and July, reflecting fewer flights and seats for sale. And with more flight cuts announced for winter, the worst is not over yet.

Which of the airports mentioned in the article have you flown to this year? Let us know in the comments.