Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial air transport in the context of "Boarding stairs"

The world's busiest airports by passenger traffic are measured by total passengers provided by the Airports Council International, defined as passengers enplaned plus passengers deplaned plus direct-transit passengers. The world's busiest airport is Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, which has been the world's busiest airport every year since 1998 with the exception of 2020, when its passenger traffic dipped for a year due to travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Atlanta regained the top position in 2021, and has held it since. Alternatively, London has the world's busiest city airport system by passenger count.

As of 2024, the United States has the most airports in the top 50 list, with 15 (16 in 2023), following by China having 12 (10 in 2023), while India and Spain have two. In terms of regions, North America has 17 airports in the top 50 (18 in 2023), followed by East Asia with 14 (12 in 2023), Europe with 8 (same as in 2023), Southeast Asia with 5 (6 in 2023), West Asia with three (same as 2023), South Asia with two (same as 2023), and South America with one (same as 2023).

King Fahd International Airport (Arabic: مطار الملك فهد الدولي; abbr. KFIA) (IATA: DMM, ICAO: OEDF), also known as Dammam International Airport or simply Dammam Airport or King Fahd Airport, is the international airport serving Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The airport is located 31 kilometres (19 miles) northwest of downtown Dammam and is named after the former King of Saudi Arabia, Fahd ibn Abdulaziz (1921–2005). The airport serves the entire Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and is one of the four primary international airports in the kingdom.

After its construction it became a US airbase used primarily during the Gulf War, the airport has been overseeing commercial operations since 28 November 1999 and has since expanded to provide connections to 43 destinations. Before King Fahd International, the primary airport serving the region was the much busier Dhahran International Airport, which has since been converted for military use and is now designated the King Abdulaziz Air Base. Since 1 July 2017, the airport has been operated and managed by the Dammam Airports Company (DACO). Commercial transport was only halted once throughout the history of the airport when, on 21 March 2020, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced the suspension of all domestic and international travel both within and to and from the kingdom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Domestic operations were reinitiated on 31 May 2020, and international operations resumed on 17 May 2021.