Sachin Walls
The need for additional airports in cities is influenced by various factors, including aviation demand, serving different city districts, and accommodating various airlines. London and New York top the list with six commercial airports each, but other cities like Rome, Moscow, Istanbul, Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Seoul, and Tokyo also have multiple airports. Monroe County, Indiana, and Macon, Georgia, are examples of places without direct commercial airline service, relying on nearby larger airports. Airport expansion plans are often controversial, and cities with multiple airports tend to concentrate operations in one due to challenges with long-term planning, transit connections, budget constraints, and local land use restrictions.
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What You'll Learn
Cities with multiple airports
Many large cities around the world have multiple airports. London, a global leader in air travel, has six commercial airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Stansted, Luton, and Southend. Heathrow and Gatwick are the largest, accounting for over 127 million passengers in 2019.
New York City also operates six airports, three of which are the main airports: Newark-Liberty, LaGuardia, and John F. Kennedy International. The other three are smaller and more distant: New York Stewart International Airport, Long Island MacArthur Airport, and an as-yet-unnamed sixth airport.
Other cities with multiple airports include Moscow, with four airports; Tokyo, with two major and two smaller airports; and Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Seoul, and Rome, each with two airports.
In the United States, there are over 19,700 airports, 5,170 of which are open to the general public, and 503 of which serve commercial flights. Kansas City, for example, has two major airports: MCI and MKC. However, most U.S. cities with multiple airports tend to concentrate operations in one airport due to poor long-term planning and the challenge of providing rapid and reliable transit between multiple airports.
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Cities without commercial airports
While there are thousands of airports in the US, with 5,170 open to the public and 503 of those serving commercial flights, there are still some cities without commercial airports.
Athens, Georgia, for example, does not have any commercial flights. Macon, Georgia, is a city of about 150,000 people, but due to its proximity to Atlanta, it doesn't have direct commercial airline service. The Middle Georgia Regional Airport has a single EAS-subsidized route to Baltimore, serving an average of 21 passengers. Bloomington, Indiana, is technically around 80,000 in population, but with unincorporated areas surrounding the city, it may be closer to 100,000. Monroe County, Indiana, home of Indiana University, only has a county airport with no commercial service. Similarly, Lafayette/West Lafayette, Indiana, is about 125,000 in population but is 65 miles from the nearest commercial airport.
Salem, Oregon, is another example of a city without a commercial airport. The closest airport with airlines is Portland, about an hour north. However, the Salem Municipal Airport is set to reopen commercial flight services, starting with flights to Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Some cities have multiple airports, often to cater to expansions in demand for aviation, but also to serve different airlines or city districts. London and New York top the list with six commercial airports each, while other cities with multiple airports include Rome, Moscow, Istanbul, Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Seoul, and Tokyo.
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Cities with busy airports
London and New York top the list of cities with busy airports, with six commercial airports each. Heathrow and Gatwick are London's largest airports, but the city also has London City, Stansted, Luton, and Southend airports. Heathrow alone accounts for a large number of passengers, with over 127 million passengers, and when combined with Gatwick, the number rises to 175 million.
New York City's three main airports are Newark-Liberty, LaGuardia, and John F. Kennedy International. In addition, three smaller, more distant airports offer scheduled flights: Long Island MacArthur Airport, New York Stewart International Airport, and a third airport whose name is not provided.
Other cities with multiple busy airports include Moscow, with four international airports within 40 kilometers of the city; Tokyo, with two major international airports and two smaller ones; and Istanbul, with three airports, one of which is cargo-only.
In the United States, there are over 19,700 airports, with 5,170 open to the general public and 503 serving commercial flights. Many U.S. cities have multiple airports, such as Kansas City, which has two major airports, and Dallas/Fort Worth, which has one primary airport with a history of legal restrictions on airlines operating outside of it.
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Cities with airports facing expansion issues
While there are thousands of airports in the US, with 5,170 open to the public and 503 serving commercial flights, many cities face issues with airport expansion. This is partly due to poor long-term planning at the city level, as well as budget pressures and local land-use restrictions.
For example, Kansas City's MCI airport was built to replace MKC as larger airliners had outgrown the old airport. There was no room to expand MKC, which was located in the middle of the city, and it had issues with tight approaches and nearby tall buildings. Similarly, London's Heathrow Airport, one of six commercial airports serving the city, has long-standing plans for a controversial third runway.
In some cases, cities may have multiple airports, but one may be favoured over the others due to various factors. For instance, in Dallas/Fort Worth, federal law once dictated that airlines could only operate full-size flights to or from KDFW, impacting the success of other airports in the area. Kansas City also has two major airports, but most airline traffic goes through the larger, more distant KMCI, while the centrally-located KMKC sees limited cargo service.
Some cities without their own commercial airports rely on nearby larger cities for air travel. For example, Monroe County, Indiana, home of Indiana University, only has a county airport without commercial service, but offers shuttles to Indianapolis International Airport, 90 minutes away. Macon, Georgia, a city of about 150,000 people, is served by the Middle Georgia Regional Airport, which has a single route to Baltimore. Athens, Georgia, and Salem, Oregon, are other examples of cities without commercial flights, although Salem Municipal Airport is set to reopen commercial flight services.
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Cities with airports facing budget and land-use restrictions
While many large cities around the world have multiple major airports, such as London, Rome, Moscow, Istanbul, Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Seoul, and Tokyo, most airports in the US are operated on behalf of local cities, and face budget and local land-use restrictions.
Airports in the US are under pressure for budget and land-use restrictions due to the political structure of city-level governments, which produces poor long-term planning. The construction of new airports or even expanding runways for safety takes years of political fighting. For multiple airports to work together, there needs to be a direct, rapid, and reliable transit system between them, which requires the use of land. However, few people are willing to tolerate this near their land.
In addition, flight is often still seen as a service for the wealthy, and airports do not pull large numbers of voters, which further adds to the budget pressure. Incompatible land development near airports is one of the main challenges facing aviation today. To tackle this, Washington State passed land-use legislation in 1996, requiring all towns, cities, and counties to discourage encroachment of incompatible development adjacent to public-use airports.
An example of a city with an airport facing budget and land-use restrictions is Kansas City. MCI was built to replace MKC as larger airliners had outgrown the old airport. There was a need for space for runway safety areas, and no room to expand in the middle of the city. In 1963, the FAA called the downtown airport "one of the poorest major airports in the country for large jet aircraft". A runway overrun in 1965 may have been the final incident that led to the construction of MCI, which was built in a location with more land available for expansion.
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Frequently asked questions
Many large cities around the world have multiple airports, including six in London and New York, four in Moscow, Miami, Boston, and Stockholm, and three in Rome, Istanbul, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo.
Multiple airports in a city often come about to cater to expansions in demand for aviation, to serve different airlines or city districts, or to replace old airports that have outgrown their space.
No, not all cities have airports. While there are approximately 5,000 public-use airports in the US, some cities, like Monroe County, Indiana, and Athens, Georgia, do not have commercial airports.
