Many American cities have built huge airports with world-class infrastructure and cutting-edge technology to cater to the needs of the growing demand of passengers traveling by air. US airports are relatively huge compared to other countries.
Even though Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is considered to be the world’s busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic it is still not listed in the list of the top 10 biggest airports in the US.
Denver International Airport is the biggest US airport that is in operation for more than 27 years now.
According to the statistics of international aviation organizations, several U.S. airports feature among the world’s largest frequently. The cargo and passenger traffic is really impressive. It is estimated that U.S. airports contribute to approximately 50% of the world’s air traffic.
List of the Top 10 Biggest Airports in the US as of 2022
Let us get into the list of America’s 10 biggest airports as of 2022 in our article below!
1. Denver International Airport – 135.7 sq km
Denver International Airport is the world’s third-biggest as well as the biggest airport in the US. It is spread across huge 52.4 square miles. It is one of the biggest employers in Colorado with more than 35,000 staff.
The airport which opened in the year 1995 now has 23 airline companies with flights to more than 215 destinations. Denver International Airport served more than 58.8 million travelers in 2021.
The three midfield concourses have 163 gates in total.
- Concourse A has 51 gates
- Concourse B has 67 gates
- Concourse C has 45 gates
2. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas (DFW) – 69.63 sq km
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport ranks in the second position with its own Zip code. The airport spans around 27 square miles. The airport serves more than 260 destinations.
Dallas/Fort airport has 191 gates and 5 terminals in an area that is around 50% of the size of Denver. All of the terminals are linked together using their Skylink people mover system. Around 70 million travelers visited the airport as of 2017 which makes it the 12th world’s busiest airport.
3. Orlando International Airport, Florida (MCO) – 54 sq km
Orlando International Airport is the third biggest airport in the US which is located in Orlando and home to Disney World. Disney World receives a footfall of around 58 million visitors every year and many of these visitors come by flight.
The Airport was planned accordingly 40 years ago covering an area of 60 square kilometers. The airport served approximately 40 million travelers in 2021.
MCO is the airport code for Orlando International Airport which was earlier a Strategic Air Command installation named McCoy Air Force Base. The airbase was closed in the year 1975 after the end of the Vietnam War.
4. Washington Dulles International Airport – 52.6 sq km
The Washington Dulles International Airport is the fourth-biggest in the US. It is built in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties in Virginia. The Washington Dulles International Airport is spanning across a vast area of 13,000 acres.
The airport is named after John Foster Dulles, 52nd US Secretary of State. It serves around 24 million travelers a year. The first scheduled flight at Dulles was in 1962. Dulles initially used the airport code DIA, the initials of Dulles International Airport which was later changed to IAD.
5. George Bush International Airport – 40.5 sq km
George Bush Intercontinental Airport is located in Houston, Texas that is spread across 10,000 acres. In comparison to Washington Dulles International Airport, this airport is smaller in size. However, it handles 45 million passengers which is more than double the passenger traffic.
It was earlier known as Houston Intercontinental Airport, which was renamed later in 1997 in the honor of US President George H. W. Bush.
6. Salt Lake City International Airport – 31.1 sq km
Salt Lake City, SLC airport is spread across an area of approximately 12 square miles. It is relatively not the busiest airport as it ferries around 24 million people in a year. The airport was constructed in 1960 and has undergone several renovations over the years to accommodate rising traffic.
Salt Lake City International Airport is consistent when it to comes to metrics like on-time departures/arrivals and flight cancellations. The airport was ranked number one in 2017 for on-time departures and arrivals.
7. O’Hare International Airport, Chicago – 30.9 sq km
O’Hare International Airport is America’s seventh biggest airport that sees more than 80 million passengers a year. O’Hare has 91 different gates and 7 runways.
O’Hare provides non-stop flights to around 228 destinations connecting various countries like North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, and the North Atlantic region.
8. San Francisco International Airport – 21.07 sq km
San Francisco International Airport is a major gateway to Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australasia. The eighth biggest airport is spread across an 8.5 square miles area and is located in San Mateo County, 13 miles south of downtown San Francisco.
The City and County of San Francisco is not only the owner of the airport but also operated by them. SFO is the second busiest airport in California and the largest airport in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was reported as the world’s 24th-busiest by passenger count in 2017.
9. John F Kennedy International Airport – 21 sq km
New York City-based John F Kennedy Airport is the 9th biggest US airport which has 8 terminals. The airport often referred to as “JFK” handles approximately 60 million travelers every year all in an area spread across 8 square miles.
The airport JFK, located in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, is looking for up-gradation and expansion as announced by Governor Cuomo in 2020. Concourse A is expected to be expanded to 16 domestic gates and renovation of the arrival/departure halls and other facilities with an estimated budget of $3.8 billion.
10. Detroit Metropolitan Airport – 19.6 sq km
Detroit Metropolitan Airport is ranked in the tenth position in our list of the top 10 biggest airports in the US. It is located just outside of the city in Wayne County. This airport is very busy for its size which ferries around 34 million passengers in a year.
This airport which is relatively small compared to other airports has 103 gates and 4 concourses. As the airport becomes a more popular go-between and destination, it’s likely that they will expand to make the space even more enormous.
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