Airports With The Most Space: A State-By-State Comparison

The United States is home to some of the world's largest and busiest airports. When it comes to sheer size, Denver International Airport (DEN) takes the top spot, covering 53 square miles, making it more than double the size of the next largest US airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).

With a total of six runways, DEN is located 25 miles from downtown Denver and offers both domestic and international flights. DFW, on the other hand, is located between Dallas and Fort Worth and boasts seven runways, accommodating a wide range of aircraft.

While Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) may be the busiest airport in the US, handling over 100 million passengers annually, it is not the largest in terms of land area.

Other notable mentions include Orlando International Airport (MCO), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). These airports, along with the others mentioned, form the mega-airports of the US, serving millions of passengers each year.

Denver International Airport, Colorado

Denver International Airport (DEN) is the largest airport in the Western Hemisphere by land area and the second-largest on Earth. At 33,531 acres (52.4 sq mi; 135.7 km2), it is so large that the four next-biggest US airports could fit inside it. The airport is located 20 to 25 miles northeast of Downtown Denver, Colorado, and is the primary economic engine for the state, generating over $36 billion for the region annually.

Denver International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, serving around 77.8 million passengers in 2023, a 12% increase from 2022. The airport serves 25 different airlines, offering non-stop service to over 215 destinations worldwide. It is a major hub for United Airlines, the largest operating base for both Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines, and a hub for Denver Air Connection and Southern Airways Express. With over 40,000 employees, it is the largest employer in Colorado.

The airport has one terminal, the Jeppesen Terminal, named after aviation safety pioneer Elrey Borge Jeppesen, and three midfield concourses, A, B, and C, with a total of 179 gates. Concourse A is accessible via a pedestrian bridge from the terminal building and also by the underground train system that services all three concourses. Concourses B and C can only be accessed via the train. All international arrivals without border pre-clearance are processed in Concourse A, which also has four 3-jetway international gates that can support the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8, the two largest commercial aircraft in the world.

Denver International Airport has a wide range of facilities and services for passengers, including ATMs, currency exchange offices, restaurants, cafeterias, shops, duty-free, Wi-Fi, and several hotels nearby. The airport is also recognised for its extensive public art collection and Colorado-inspired rotating exhibitions.

The airport has direct train and bus connections to downtown Denver, and there are various car rental companies operating from the airport.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is located between Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas, USA. Covering 17,207 acres, it is the second-largest airport by land area in the United States, after Denver International Airport.

History

As early as 1927, Dallas proposed a joint airport with Fort Worth. However, Fort Worth declined, and both cities opened their own airports: Love Field in Dallas and Meacham Field in Fort Worth. In 1940, the Civil Aeronautics Administration set aside funds for a Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport, but the project was abandoned in 1942 due to disagreements between the two cities. After World War II, Fort Worth developed Amon Carter Field, later renamed Greater Southwest International Airport (GSW), but this airport failed to compete with Dallas' airport.

The joint airport proposal was revisited in 1961 when the Federal Aviation Administration refused to invest in separate airports for the two cities. In 1964, the federal government threatened to choose a site unilaterally if the cities could not agree, and officials finally agreed on a location just north of GSW. Construction began in 1969, and the airport opened for commercial service on January 13, 1974, at a cost of $875 million.

Operations and Facilities

DFW Airport has five terminals and 174 gates, designed in a half-circle shape to minimise the distance between passengers' cars and the aircraft. The DFW Skylink automated people mover system allows passengers to travel between gates inside the secured area with an average travel time of seven minutes. Terminal D is the primary international terminal, with customs and border protection facilities.

DFW Airport offers service to 254 destinations (191 domestic and 63 international) from 28 passenger airlines. It is the largest hub for American Airlines, which has a presence in every terminal. Other airlines operating from DFW include Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines.

Accolades

DFW Airport has received several accolades, including being named the best large airport in North America for customer service by Airports Council International in 2016. It was also the first airport in North America to achieve carbon-neutral status and is currently the largest carbon-neutral airport in the world.

Orlando International Airport, Florida

Orlando International Airport (MCO) is located 6 miles southeast of Downtown Orlando, Florida. It is the primary international airport for the region and the busiest airport in the state of Florida. With 44 airlines serving 135 domestic and international destinations, it is also the seventh busiest airport in the United States.

The airport covers 11,605 acres, making it one of the largest commercial airports in the country in terms of land area. It is the fifth-largest airport in the US, after Denver International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport.

Orlando International Airport has a rich history, dating back to the 1940s when it was originally constructed as a U.S. Army Air Forces facility. During World War II, it was known as Pinecastle Army Airfield and was briefly used for glide tests of the Bell X-1 aircraft. The airport became a joint civil-military facility in the 1960s and was renamed McCoy Air Force Base in honour of Colonel Michael Norman Wright McCoy, a pilot who was killed during a competition in 1958. The airport code MCO is derived from this former name.

Today, the airport features a central terminal building with four smaller concourses connected, four runways, and a helipad. It handled over 22 million passengers in 2017, making it the 11th busiest airport in the US that year. The airport has continued to expand, with the addition of Terminal C in 2022 and plans for a further terminal in the future.

Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia

Washington Dulles International Airport (IATA: IAD, ICAO: KIAD, FAA LID: IAD) is a large international airport in Loudoun County and Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. It is named after John Foster Dulles, the influential US Secretary of State during the Cold War. The airport is located 26 miles (42 km) west of downtown Washington, D.C. and serves the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area.

The airport opened in 1962 and its main terminal is a well-known landmark designed by Eero Saarinen. Dulles occupies 13,000 acres (20.3 sq mi; 52.6 km2), ranking fourth in the US in terms of land area. The airport has four runways, with a fifth runway parallel to runway 12/30 planned for the future.

Washington Dulles is a hub for United Airlines and is used by several other airlines, including Star Alliance members such as Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa. The airport has 113 airline gates across several concourses, with Concourse C/D being the largest, featuring 47 gates. The airport also has 16 "remote gate" positions on the south side.

The airport offers a range of dining and shopping options, with nearly 100 privately-owned food and retail shops throughout. Concourse B is the centerpiece of the retail program, featuring 13,000 square feet of retail space.

Washington Dulles has been ranked highly for its convenience and design. In 2024, it was ranked as the 11th best airport in the world by AirHelp, with an overall rating of 8.22 out of 10. The airport's efficient design includes a two-level road in front of the terminal to separate arrival and departure traffic, and a federally owned limited-access highway connecting to the Capital Beltway (I-495).

The airport has also been a popular filming location, featuring in the Airport film franchise and Die Hard 2.

John F Kennedy International Airport, New York

John F. Kennedy International Airport (IATA: JFK, ICAO: KJFK, FAA LID: JFK) is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. Located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, JFK Airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New York airport system, the sixth-busiest airport in the United States, and the busiest international commercial airport in North America. Covering 5,200 acres (2,104 ha), it is the largest airport in the New York metropolitan area.

JFK Airport is situated in the Jamaica neighbourhood of Queens, 16 miles (26 km) southeast of Midtown Manhattan. The airport features five passenger terminals and four runways. It is primarily accessible via car, bus, shuttle, or other vehicle transit, and also by train. Serving as a hub for American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, as well as the primary operating base for JetBlue, JFK Airport accommodates over 90 airlines, offering nonstop or direct flights to destinations on all six inhabited continents.

The facility opened in 1948 as New York International Airport but was commonly known as Idlewild Airport. Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, the airport was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport in his honour.

JFK Airport was intended to be the world's largest and most efficient airport when it was built, with a design that aimed to eliminate confusion and congestion. Over the years, the airport has undergone expansions and renovations to accommodate increasing air traffic and larger aircraft, such as the Boeing 747. The airport currently hosts the world's longest flight, Singapore Airlines Flights 23 and 24 (SQ23 and SQ24), a route launched in 2020 between Singapore and New York JFK, utilising the Airbus A350-900ULR.

JFK Airport has a rich history, including notable events such as the first jet airliner landing in 1950 and the Concorde trans-Atlantic supersonic flights from 1977 to 2003. The airport has also been associated with several significant robberies, including the Air France robbery in 1967 and the Lufthansa heist in 1978, both of which were among the largest cash robberies in the United States at the time.

The airport's dedicated rail network, AirTrain JFK, provides connections to each terminal and external transportation options. The airport also offers various ground transportation options, including taxi and ride-sharing services, with access via the Van Wyck Expressway (I-678) or JFK Expressway.

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