Classified by seats occupied, these international flight routes were the busiest in 2024
Air travel today is a world away from what it used to be. Mass tourism, rising prices, and the restrictions placed by the global pandemic have made flying a considerable challenge. Furthermore, the airport experience is often fraught with overcrowding and annoying red tape. But it wasn't always. Back in the day, airports were seen as oases of calm and tranquility where passengers could relax and unwind before catching their flight.
Click through and take a look at some of the world's most popular airports in their vintage heyday.
An aerial view of Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, around 1930. The airport opened in 1923 and ceased operating in 2008. Tempelhof played a key role during the Berlin Blockade and the airlift of 1948-49.
Los Angeles Municipal Airport pictured in 1933. Today, the Los Angeles International Airport, or LAX, is one of the world's busiest.
Opened in 1923, East Boston Airport became Logan International Airport in 1943, named for Maj. Gen. Edward Lawrence Logan (1875–1939), a Spanish–American War officer from South Boston.
New York International Airport opened in 1948 and was commonly known as Idlewild Airport. Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, it was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport in honor of the slain US president. Pictured in 1948 is an Air France Lockheed Constellation as it taxis along a runway overpass above the Van Wyck Expressway.
Originally called Aéroport de Paris Nord (Paris North Airport) during its planning stage, the largest airport in France had been renamed Charles de Gaulle by the time of its inauguration in March 1974.
North Texas Regional Airport (initially renamed Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport and later Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport) during its initial construction in 1973. The airport opened for commercial flights the following year.
A Junkers JU-52 transport aircraft lands at Frankfurt Airport in 1936, the year it opened. During the Second World War, control of air traffic was transferred to the Luftwaffe. The airport did not emerge as a major international airline hub until 1958.
Pictured is Pan American (Pan Am) World Airways' first terminal building at International Pan American Airport located at Dinner Key in Miami, Florida. Dinner Key served as a base for Pan Am's flying boats during the 1930s and 1940s.
Spanish women in traditional flamenco costumes, dancing for the foreign press at Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, around 1950. The airport opened in 1931.
Located in Queens, New York City, the airport today known as LaGuardia started life in 1939 as North Beach Airport. It was renamed in 1953 after Fiorello La Guardia (1882–1947), the mayor of New York City when the airport was built. The photograph shows passengers walking up the ramp from the Atlantic Clipper after it had arrived at LaGuardia in December 1941.
A transpacific Strato Clipper aircraft seen on the tarmac in 1954 at San Francisco International Airport, which opened in 1927 as Mills Field San Francisco Airport.
Inaugurated in April 1962, Domodedovo Airport is one of four airports that serve Moscow. It's officially known as Domodedovo Mikhail Lomonosov International Airport after being renamed in 2019 in honor of Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–1765). The airport is pictured during the Soviet era hosting an aviation show in 1967. In the foreground is a Myasishchev M-4 strategic bomber.
In 1928, Newark Metropolitan Airport in New Jersey was little more than a collection of aircraft hangers. Today as Newark Liberty International Airport, the facility handles almost as many flights as JFK.
Aircraft, including a Lockheed L-18, a Constellation, and DC-3 parked on the tarmac of Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the early 1950s.
The American Airlines terminal at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, 1970. The facility began operating as an airfield in 1944. It was named O'Hare Airport in 1949 to honor wartime Navy flying ace Edward O'Hare (1914–1943).
Smiling and hopeful, entrants in the Miss Australia Quest line up at Sydney Airport in November 1947 for a photo-call. The land around the airport site in Mascot had been used as airfields as far back as 1911. An airport proper was established in the early 1920s.
The terminal building and control tower at Elmdon Airport in Birmingham in 1939. Today the facility is known as Birmingham International Airport.
The landmark circular terminal of Toronto International Airport in 1965. It was officially renamed Lester B. Pearson International Airport in 1984, in honor of Toronto-born Lester B. Pearson (1897–1972), the 14th Prime Minister of Canada and a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
This is how London's second airport appeared in 1938. It had opened as an aerodrome in the late 1920s and began handling commercial flights in 1933.
The arrivals hall at Rome-Fiumicino international airport is pictured on the day of the airport's inauguration, on January 15, 1961. Its official name is Rome–Fiumicino International Airport "Leonardo da Vinci."
Today one of the busiest airports in Europe, Schiphol opened in 1916 as a military airbase. In the 1960s, the facility underwent considerable expansion and modification. The airport is pictured in 1960.
This is Villeneuve-Orly Airport in the early 1930s. It became the main airport serving Paris until Charles de Gaulle opened in 1974.
Looking like an unfinished motorway intersection, this is Zurich Airport in 1948, the year it opened.
Vancouver International Airport opened in 1931. Forty years later, in 1971, this photograph was taken. A Northwest Airlines jet, a Boeing 707, just wouldn't fit into a hangar made for lesser craft. So semi-circular holes were carved in each of the twin doors to accommodate the airplane.
This photograph shows a dedication ceremony underway for the new wing of a near-empty Entebbe Airport, unveiled in 1951. The airport made world headlines in 1976 when Israeli commandos rescued 103 hostages from a French jet airliner hijacked en route from Israel to France.
Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Pictured is the airport's new terminal building being officially opened in 1962.
An aerial view of Croydon Airport in 1925, five years after it opened. Created by amalgamating two adjacent First World War airfields, Waddon Aerodrome and Beddington Aerodrome, Croydon served as the UK's major and only international airport during the interwar period. It closed in 1959.
This is London Airport as it appeared in 1958. It was known as such until 1966, when it was renamed Heathrow Airport. The airport was originally founded as a small airfield in 1929.
Serving Scotland's biggest city, Prestwick began handling commercial passenger traffic in 1938. Prestwick was placed firmly on the celebrity map on March 3, 1960 when Elvis Presley stretched his legs in the airport lounge after the United States Air Force transport plane carrying him home stopped to refuel en route from Germany. It's the only time the singer ever stepped foot on UK soil, and he was happy to meet fans and face the press (pictured) during the brief stopover.
Opened in 1962 and named after former US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), Dulles serves Washington, D.C. It's pictured almost empty shortly after its inauguration.
Sources: (Coldwarsites) (Elvis Presley Music) (Britannica)
See also: Airports named after celebrities and historical figures
Airports in their vintage heyday
When catching a flight was a less stressful experience
TRAVEL Flight
Air travel today is a world away from what it used to be. Mass tourism, rising prices, and the restrictions placed by the global pandemic have made flying a considerable challenge. Furthermore, the airport experience is often fraught with overcrowding and annoying red tape. But it wasn't always. Back in the day, airports were seen as oases of calm and tranquility where passengers could relax and unwind before catching their flight.
Click through and take a look at some of the world's most popular airports in their vintage heyday.