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There are many large airports in the United States, including more than 5,000 public airports. When looking at the largest airports in the U.S., the biggest airport in the entire US is Denver International Airport. Denver International Airport measures a total size of 137.26 square kilometers or 33,917 acres. This makes it the third-largest airport in the entire world, behind only Beijing Daxing International Airport and King Fahd International Airport.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is the second-largest airport in the US, followed by Washington Dulles International Airport, Orlando International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental, and Salt Lake City International Airport. O'Hare International Airport in Chicago is the seventh-largest airport in the US at 7,627 acres in size. San Francisco International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Detroit Metropolitan Airport round out the top ten biggest airports in the US, in that order.
As you will see, just because an airport is large does not mean it will have the most travelers throughout the year. The five busiest airports are below.
The busiest airport in the US is actually Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has roughly 104 million passengers yearly. The primary reason that this airport is the busiest one in the US is that its favorable geographic location makes it an ideal connection hub. It serves over 225 destinations through 18 domestic and international carriers. Interestingly, despite how busy this airport is, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has been voted the most efficient airport in the world for 18 years in a row.
Los Angeles International Airport is the second-busiest airport in the US. About 84.5 million passengers pass through this airport each year. One of the reasons for this is that LAX, as it is commonly known, serves as the gateway to Los Angeles, California. LAX receives plenty of passenger traffic from overseas. Its location on the west coast makes it a popular airport for Asian travelers.
The O'Hare International Airport in Chicago is the third-busiest airport in the United States. However, this airport, also called Chicago O'Hare, was actually the busiest airport in the US from 1963 up until 1998. O'Hare International Airport was also the first major airport that was planned in the post-World War 2 era. The O'Hare International Airport gets approximately 79.8 million passengers each year.
The fourth-busiest airport in the US is the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. This airport is commonly referred to as DFW. Sixty-seven million passengers are the approximate figure for the passenger traffic that Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport receives annually. However, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is quite large, so much so that it has its own postal service designation and its own zip code. That zip code is 75261. It is also aware of the environmental impact of such a large business and is the largest carbon-neutral airport in the world.
The Denver International Airport is the fifth-busiest airport in the US, despite being the largest airport in the US. This airport also has the longest public-use runway in all of North America. A total of approximately 61 million passengers travel through Denver International Airport each year. The Denver International Airport serves quite a few destinations, 215 in total, and this number includes 189 US destinations. Although this is already the largest airport in the country, an expansion is currently in the works with concourse updates and outdoor decks.
State | Busiest Airport | Passengers per Year |
---|---|---|
Georgia | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) | 103,902,992 |
California | Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) | 84,557,968 |
Illinois | Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) | 79,828,183 |
Texas | Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) | 67,092,194 |
Colorado | Denver International Airport (DEN) | 61,379,396 |
New York | John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) | 59,392,500 |
Nevada | McCarran International Airport (LAS) | 48,566,803 |
Washington | Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) | 46,934,194 |
North Carolina | Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) | 45,909,899 |
Florida | Orlando International Airport (MCO) | 44,511,265 |
Arizona | Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) | 43,921,670 |
New Jersey | Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) | 43,393,499 |
Minnesota | Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) | 38,034,341 |
Massachusetts | Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) | 36,288,042 |
Michigan | Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) | 34,701,497 |
Pennsylvania | Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) | 29,585,754 |
Maryland | Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) | 26,369,411 |
Utah | Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) | 24,198,816 |
Virginia | Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) | 23,928,248 |
Oregon | Portland International Airport (PDX) | 19,080,454 |
Missouri | Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL) | 14,730,656 |
Tennessee | Nashville International Airport (BNA) | 14,134,448 |
Louisiana | Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) | 12,009,512 |
Indiana | Indianapolis International Airport (IND) | 8,770,308 |
Connecticut | Bradley International Airport (BDL) | 6,436,407 |
Hawaii | Honolulu International Airport (HNL) | 5,081,000 |
Alaska | Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) | 4,966,000 |
New Mexico | Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) | 4,958,417 |
Nebraska | Eppley Airfield (OMA) | 4,611,906 |
Idaho | Boise Airport (BOI) | 4,500,000 |
Oklahoma | Will Rogers World Airport (OKC) | 4,300,000 |
Rhode Island | T.F. Green Airport (PVD) | 3,937,947 |
Wisconsin | General Mitchell International Airport (MKE) | 3,350,000 |
Ohio | John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) | 3,269,127 |
Kentucky | Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) | 3,088,000 |
Iowa | Des Moines International Airport (DSM) | 2,919,904 |
South Carolina | Charleston International Airport (CHS) | 2,665,639 |
Montana | Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) | 2,264,424 |
Alabama | Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) | 2,200,000 |
Arkansas | Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field (LIT) | 2,000,000 |
Maine | Portland International Jetport (PWM) | 1,785,649 |
New Hampshire | Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) | 1,630,000 |
Kansas | Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) | 1,285,070 |
Mississippi | Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN) | 1,200,000 |
Vermont | Burlington International Airport (BTV) | 1,151,000 |
North Dakota | Hector International Airport (FAR) | 908,075 |
South Dakota | Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD) | 611,933 |
West Virginia | Yeager Airport (CRW) | 216,873 |
Delaware | Wilmington-Philadelphia Regional Airport (ILG) | 78,875 |
Wyoming | Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) |