Top 20 Most Polluted Airports in the World

LONDON- A new policy brief from ODI Global has placed Dubai International Airport (DXB) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR) at the top of the world’s highest-emitting airports, with the 20 largest contributing 27.3% of total aviation CO2 emissions in 2023. The findings come as global aviation emissions approach pre-pandemic levels across all regions. The Airport Tracker analysis, covering 1,300 airports worldwide, shows airports in just 20 countries account for 78% of global aviation CO2 emissions. Carriers such as Emirates (EK), British Airways (BA), American Airlines (AA), and Singapore Airlines (SQ) operate the bulk of long-haul flights from these top-emitting hubs, with the United States and China together responsible for nearly 40% of the global total. The aviation sector currently accounts for approximately 2.5% of global energy-related CO2 emissions. When non-CO2 climate impacts are included, the sector is responsible for around 4% of global warming to date. If aviation were classified as a country, it would rank as the fifth-largest national emitter globally. The 1,300 airports tracked in the analysis generated 1,026 million tonnes of CO2 across 34.6 million flights in 2023, ODI Global reported. Aviation recorded the largest percentage increase in both activity and emissions among hard-to-abate sectors between 2023 and 2024. The 20 largest airports by CO2 emissions are: 1. Dubai International (DXB) - 23.2 million tonnes 2. London Heathrow (LHR) - 21.0 million tonnes 3. Los Angeles International (LAX) - 18.8 million tonnes 4. Seoul Incheon (ICN) - 16.8 million tonnes 5. New York JFK (JFK) - 16.8 million tonnes 6. Hong Kong International (HKG) - 15.1 million tonnes 7. Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) - 14.7 million tonnes 8. Frankfurt (FRA) - 14.4 million tonnes 9. Singapore Changi (SIN) - 14.3 million tonnes 10. Doha Hamad (DOH) - 14.0 million tonnes 11. Istanbul (IST) - 12.8 million tonnes 12. Shanghai Pudong (PVG) - 12.4 million tonnes 13. Chicago O’Hare (ORD) - 12.4 million tonnes 14. San Francisco (SFO) - 11.9 million tonnes 15. Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) - 11.0 million tonnes 16. Tokyo Haneda (HND) - 10.8 million tonnes 17. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) - 10.6 million tonnes 18. Anchorage (ANC) - 9.9 million tonnes 19. Miami International (MIA) - 9.7 million tonnes 20. Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) - 9.4 million tonnes Asia-Pacific leads global aviation emissions, followed by North America and Europe. These three regions combined produce more emissions than Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa together. The United States and China together account for nearly 40% of global airport CO2 emissions. The remaining 173 countries combined produce just 22% of total emissions.