Atlanta International Airport (detail),
Georgia, USA

Ranked as the busiest airport in the world in 2021, Atlanta International transported 75.7 million passengers and handled 708,000 flights.
Total global air passengers in 2021 are estimated to be nearly 4.5 billion (a 50% reduction from 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic). However, large inequalities mean that most of the world’s population do not fly at all.
35% of international trade by value (0.5% by weight) is also carried by air, with a total value of $6.8 trillion.
Global aviation – including both passenger and freight – emitted an estimated 1.04 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2018. Planes also affect the concentration of other gases and pollutants in the atmosphere, resulting in a stronger warming effect overall.

Approx area depicted: 10 km2
Date of image: 2022