Air travel has emerged as a crucial component of the global economy, serving as the preferred mode of transportation for long distances. It efficiently transports vacationers, tourists, business professionals, and military personnel to their destinations with greater speed and safety compared to railways, roads, or water routes. Beyond human passengers, air transport is well-suited for transporting non-human cargo such as mail, goods, and military payloads. Consequently, cities worldwide have swiftly adapted by constructing expansive airports and associated infrastructure to meet the escalating demand for accessible and cost-effective air travel. To determine the world’s largest airport, one must consider various criteria: physical size, passenger capacity, and total volume of flights. This article will explore the largest airports worldwide through these three distinct perspectives.
size, largest number of passengers, and largest total volume (number of flights).
Top 10 Largest Airports in the World by Land Area (in square miles):
- King Fahd International (DMM) — Dammam, Saudi Arabia — 776 km2 (299.61 mi2)
- Denver International (DEN) — Denver, CO United States — 135.7 km2 (53.09 mi2)
- Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) — Dallas, TX United States — 69.6 km2 (26.88 mi2)
- Orlando International (MCO) — Orlando, FL United States — 53.8 km2 (20.78 mi2)
- Washington Dulles International (IAD) — Washington D.C., United States — 48.6 km2 (18.75 mi2)
- Beijing Daxing International (PKX) — Beijing, China — 46.6 km2 (18 mi2)
- George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) — Houston, TX United States — 44.5 km2 (17.19 mi2)
- Shanghai Pudong International (PVG) — Shanghai, China — 39.9 km2 (15.4 mi2)
- Cairo International (CAI) — Cairo, Egypt — 36.3 km2 (14 mi2)
- Suvarnabhumi International (BKK) — Bangkok, Thailand — 32.4 km2 (12.51 mi2)
The King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, stands as the world’s largest airport, surpassing others by a significant margin in terms of overall size. Encompassing nearly 300 square miles, this former United States airbase nearly matches the combined area of all five boroughs of New York City (302.6 mi2). Its extensive facilities include an on-site mosque capable of accommodating up to 2,000 worshippers simultaneously, a residential community supporting up to 3,000 people, and greenhouses on-site that supply the plant materials for the airport’s landscaping.
Despite its colossal footprint and impressive amenities, King Fahd International welcomes approximately 9.7 million passengers annually, placing it well beyond the top 100 airports globally in terms of traffic. Surprisingly, it is only the third-busiest airport in Saudi Arabia, with the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah taking the top spot, catering to 41 million passengers annually, many of whom embark on pilgrimages to the holy city of Mecca.
Shifting focus to indoor facilities, the Beijing Daxing Airport in China boasts the world’s largest airport terminal. Spanning an area of nearly 696,773 square meters (7.5 million square feet), the terminal is roughly equivalent to 97 football/soccer fields (130 American football fields). Designed in a distinctive “starfish” shape, the terminal facilitates quick access for passengers to reach their departure gates. This innovative design is anticipated to become even more crucial in the future, as Beijing Daxing is projected to claim the title of the world’s busiest airport by 2040. While physical sprawl is an impressive metric, passenger counts provide another perspective. Re-ranking the top airports by total passengers served would yield markedly different results.
Top 10 Biggest (and Busiest) Airports in the World by Total Passengers Served in 2020
- Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) — Guangzhou, China — 43,767,558
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) — Atlanta, GA United States — 42,918,685
- Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) — Chengdu, China — 40,741,509
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) — Grapevine, TX United States — 39,364,990
- Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport (SZX) — Shenzhen, China — 37,916,054
- Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (CKG) — Chongqing, China — 34,937,789
- Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) – Beijing, China – 34,513,827
- Denver International Airport (DEN) – Denver, CO United States – 33,741,129
- Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG) – Kunming, China – 32,990,805
- Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) – Shanghai, China – 31,165,641
China and the United States dominate the rankings, leaving out major airports like Dubai International Airport (DXB), Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), and Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND), which were among the busiest in 2019. The unique circumstances of 2020, heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, provide context for this shift. The large populations and expansive territories of both China and the U.S. played a significant role in a year marked by severe international travel restrictions, contributing to their continued prominence as essential business-travel destinations.
A noteworthy change is the fall of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta from its long-held #1 position, maintained for over 20 consecutive years since 1998, to #2. Despite being approximately the 37th most populous city in the U.S., Atlanta’s strategic location, offering a two-hour flight access to over 80% of the U.S. population and popular warm-weather vacation spots, has attracted more than 110 million passengers annually. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a drastic 61% reduction in passenger volume in 2020, surpassing declines seen in every other top 10 airport except for Beijing Capital. This downturn allowed Guangzhou Baiyu to claim the top spot in 2020, having experienced a comparatively modest 40.4% decrease in passenger numbers.
One might anticipate that New York City, being the largest city in the US and arguably the most significant globally, would prominently feature in this list and unquestionably rank among the leading cities in the United States. However, due to the distribution of air traffic across three airports, smaller cities with a single airport, such as Atlanta, Denver, and Dallas/Fort Worth, surpass the traffic of each individual airport in New York City. Nevertheless, it’s crucial to acknowledge New York City’s unique situation. When combining the traffic of all three airports, the city collectively serves approximately 130 million passengers annually, surpassing Hartsfield-Jackson by a considerable margin.
Numerous major cities boast multiple airports. If we consider every airport within a city’s metropolitan area, then London emerges as the busiest city in terms of air-passenger traffic. London accommodates a total of six airports within its metropolitan area. While only two of them rank within the top 50 in terms of traffic, they collectively facilitated around 177 million passengers in 2018. Having explored the world’s busiest airports based on 2020 passengers, let’s delve into one final category: the largest volume, measured by the number of flights. The proper term for this metric is “aircraft movements,” encompassing all take-offs and landings at the airport.
Top 10 Airports with the Most Take-Offs and Landings in the World in 2020
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) — Atlanta, GA United States — 548,016
- O’Hare International Airport (ORD) — Chicago, IL United States — 538,211
- Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) — Dallas, TX United States — 514,702
- Denver International (DEN) — Denver, CO United States — 436,971
- Phoenix Deer Valley (DVT) — Phoenix, AZ United States — 402,444
- Charlotte Douglas International (CLT) — Charlotte, NC United States — 397,983
- Los Angeles International (LAX) — Los Angeles, CA United States — 379,364
- Guangzhou Baiyun International (CAN) — Guangzhou, China — 373,421
- Shanghai Pudong International (PVG) — Shanghai, China — 325,678
- McCarran International Airport (LAS) — Las Vegas, NV United States — 323,422
In 2020, the leading three airports globally oversaw approximately 1,460 take-offs or landings daily, on average. While this figure is remarkable, it signifies a significant decrease from 2019. During that year, ORD and ATL managed 919,704 and 904,301 aircraft movements, averaging 2,499 per day for each airport.
| Country | Airport Name | Total SurfaceArea (km²) |
|---|
| Saudi Arabia | King Fahd International Airport | 776 |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | King Khalid International Airport | 375 |
| United States | Denver International Airport | 135 |
| Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur International Airport | 100 |
| Turkey | Istanbul Airport | 76 |
| United States | Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport | 69 |
| United States | Southwest Florida International Airport | 54 |
| United States | Orlando International Airport | 53 |
| United States | Washington Dulles International Airport | 48 |
| China | Beijing Daxing International Airport | 46 |
| United States | George Bush Intercontinental Airport | 44 |
| United States | Kansas City International Airport | 43 |
| United States | Pittsburgh International Airport | 40 |
| China | Shanghai Pudong International Airport | 39 |
| Egypt | Cairo International Airport | 36 |
| United Arab Emirates | Dubai International Airport | 35 |
| Thailand | Suvarnabhumi Airport | 32 |
| France | Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport | 32 |
| United States | Salt Lake City International Airport | 31 |
| United States | Chicago O’Hare International Airport | 30 |
| Spain | Adolfo Suarez, Madrid-Barajas Airport | 30 |
| Canada | YEG Edmonton International Airport | 28 |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam Airport Schiphol | 27 |
| Australia | Brisbane International Airport | 27 |
| Germany | Frankfurt Airport | 23 |
| India | Rajiv Gandhi International Airport | 22 |