John F. Kennedy International Airport was the world's 13th busiest by passenger amount in 2007, according to a new report from the trade group Airports Council International. JFK was the only New York area airport to make the list (PDF) of the world's 30 busiest (see update below).

In 2007, 47,716,941 passengers passed through the airport on the edge of Queens, an 11.9 percent increase over 2006. Of that total number, 21,543,251 were international passengers, making JFK the 15th busiest in the world in terms of international passengers (list here as PDF).

Atlanta's Harstfield-Jackson was the world's busiest airport in 2007 in terms of total passengers. London's Heathrow was the busiest in terms of international passenger.

Update 8:16 p.m.

Newark's Liberty International did make the top 30 list of the world's busiest at No. 21, with 36,367,240 passengers in 2007.

The press junket to showcase British Airways’ $30 million renovation of Terminal 7 in JFK began at 10 a.m. in Bryant Park with a chartered bus.

At the terminal, reporters were greeted solicitously by British-accented airline staff, but didn’t get to skip going through security. Turnout was good: The Associated Press, the BBC, the New York Post, Agence France-Presse, CNBC, the Financial Times, and assorted others, including Golf for Women. (The English are big golfers, the executive editor explained.)

After 45 minutes of mulling about and sipping breakfast-y beverages came the press conference. The 18-month renovation would be to enhance what British Airways C.E.O. Willie Walsh referred to as the company’s “premium ground product.” The airline is seeking LEED certification for the terminal.  read more »