This year Chicago O’Hare International Airport grabbed the top spot from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which has moved into second position, ahead of Dallas-Fort Worth in third spot.
The enduring power of the hub and spoke system in the United States is clear with US airports claiming 22 of the Top 50 Megahub places worldwide, and dominating rankings provided by airline intelligence company, OAG.
This year Chicago O’Hare International Airport grabbed the top spot from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which has moved into second position, ahead of Dallas-Fort Worth in third spot.
OAG says these airports combine sheer scale of airline operations with a large number of destinations served to maximise the potential connections within a six-hour time window.
The top performers outside the US – airports such as Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International (ranked 7th) and Tokyo Haneda (raked 11th) - typically have flights to fewer destinations but compensate with high operating frequencies to those destinations and resulting in high levels of connectivity for passengers.
Dubai, which handles more international passengers than any other hub, scrapes in at No. 48.
Chicago is just one of four cities in the OAG 2016 Megahubs Index which can claim a place in both the overall Megahubs Index as well as the Low Cost Megahubs, the others being Istanbul (Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gokcen Airport), Bangkok (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueang Airport) and London (Heathrow and Gatwick).
Outside of North America, Asia Pacific has the most airports among the Top 50 Megahubs with 16, followed by Europe with six and Latin America with four.