JFK flies off world’s 20 busiest airports list

about 6 years in NY Daily

John F. Kennedy International Airport got bumped off the 20 busiest facilities in the world, according to rankings released Monday from Airports Council International.

New York’s largest airport lost its perch as the 16th busiest in the world in 2017 to Indira Gandhi Airport in New Delhi, India.

The India airport was the fastest-growing one on the list, with a 14.1% spike in traffic, totaling more than 63.4 million passengers moved last year, according to the trade group.

Airports in other Asian cities saw passenger traffic grow, including the 10.3% boom in traffic at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, China. That growth helped it move up the list to No. 13, from No. 15 in 2016.

The U.S. still holds the No. 1 spot for world’s busiest airport — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta handled nearly 104 million passengers.

Still, there’s no reason for bruised egos in New York aviation, according to transportation writer Jason Rabinowitz.

“New York really has quite an incredibly extensive route network,” Rabinowitz said.

JFK is still handling more fliers than ever, as well. It saw more than 59 million fliers in 2017, a slight uptick from the previous year.

Among the factors knocking JFK out of the top 20 were the ability of other cities to build out their airports and growing demand for air travel in southeast Asia, he said.

“In the U.S., specifically New York, it’s a very mature market,” Rabinowitz said. “It’s certainly still growing.”

Port Authority spokesman Ron Marsico said the agency is preparing to see 100 million annual fliers at JFK by 2050.

“Such growth requires significant investment, which is why we’re moving to advance Gov. Cuomo’s vision plan and transform JFK into a unified, world-class, 21st century airport,” Marsico said in the statement.

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