According to the World Bank a total of 4.4 billion flight passengers travelled in 2019. With a total global population of approximately 7.7 billion people, this represents an average of one flight (single journey) for more than every two people. Increasing welfare, attractive tourist destinations, the growth in global trade and less restrictive visa policies have resulted in a record-breaking number of passengers almost every year.
The biggest airports worldwide in 2019, ranking by number of passengers, were Atlanta in the United States with 111 million passengers, Beijing (100 million) and Los Angeles (88 million). The Airport Council International (ACI) listed Frankfurt am Main as the largest German airport at rank 15 with a total of 70 million passengers in 2019.
More than 101 mn passengers departed on a trip abroad from German airports, including 62 million travelling to EU destinations. According to data from Destatis a total of 14 million passengers flew from Germany to Spain, Palma de Mallorca being the most popular destination with 4.9 million passengers. London-Heathrow, Antalya (each 2.8 million passengers) and Vienna (each 2.7 million passengers) were the cities ranked in second and third place. For more information please also consult our air transport statistics atlas.