The United States of America is known to have the highest number of airports in the world. Approximately more than 19,622 airports are there in America, out of which 5,000 are public ones. Clearly, then, some of the busiest airports in the world are in this part of the world. Here, the busiest airports are those that consist of the maximum number of passengers. Hartsfield—Jackson Atlanta International Airport is America’s busiest passenger airport. In addition to this, there are 9 other airports in the United States that are regarded to be heavily occupied.
In this post, you will come across these top 10 busiest airports in the U.S.They are known to be the busiest in terms of their passenger traffic and the size they occupy. Read on to learn more about them. Doing so will surely help you plan better your next weekend trip.
Content Summary
This summary has a list of the busiest airports in the U.S. that you will be reading in this blog.
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- Newark Liberty International Airport
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport
- Boston Logan International Airport
- Miami International Airport
- Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
- Philadelphia International Airport
- Detroit Metro International Airport
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
Exploring the Busiest Airports in America
In this section of our blog post, we will tell you what are the 10 busiest airports in the United States. The list of these American airports is based on the number of travelers per year. It is also categorized as per an airport’s size and its terminals. Not only the passenger traffic and terminals will be covered, but also you will get to look at their other features.
1. Charlotte Douglas International Airport
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT Airport code) is considered the second-largest hub at American Airlines. This airport is located in the Charlotte metropolitan area. It is nearly 6 miles away from the central business district of the city. There is a single terminal along with 116 gates at this airport. Around 553,857 total aircraft movements take place here.
Talking about its surface area, CLT Airport covers around 5,558 acres of its land. This enormous size of the airport is the reason for its vast passenger traffic. This airport is one of the top 10 busiest airports in the U.S. because approximately 24 million passengers travel through it every year.
2. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
Situated 3 miles to the east of the city center of Phoenix, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a renowned public airport. It is in the country of Maricopa, United States. This airport, comprising the PHX Airport code, has four terminals with 106 gates. These gates make it easy for millions of passengers to travel. The passenger capacity of PHX Airport explains why it makes it to the list of the busiest airports in the U.S. This capacity is around 22.4 million.
Also, nearly 4,04,000 aircraft movements take place at this airport. The size of this airport constitutes approx 3,400 acres that are feasible for this purpose.
3. Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport, recognized by the EWR Airport code, is also known as Newark Metropolitan Airport. This airport code is used by many passengers worldwide to detect the location of the airport. It is located 3 miles to the south of the city of Newark, near the Newark Airport Interchange. EWR Airport comprises three terminals with 121 gates in total. Around 2,65,000 scheduled passenger aircraft movements occur at this airport.
Due to its vast size, EWR Airport was amongst the busiest airports in 2016. Even at present, it continues to remain busy. The surface area of this airport is 2027 acres. It has a passenger traffic of about 23 million.
4. George Bush Intercontinental Airport
Let us now look at an international airport in the city of Houston, Texas. George Bush International Airport is located 23 miles to the north of downtown Houston. This airport, having the IAH Airport code, is also known as Houston Intercontinental Airport. IAH Airport has around five terminals comprising 130 gates. It is spread over an area of 10,000 acres of land.
21.9 million passengers are traveling from this airport on a yearly basis. Additionally, approx, 5,02,844 aircraft movements take place, in a year, at this airport. These are the reasons why IAH Airport is one in the top ten busiest airports in the U.S.
5. Boston Logan International Airport
Boston Logan International Airport is also known as Logan International Airport. This airport, with the BOS Airport code, is situated in Winthrop. It is based in the state of Massachusetts, United States. When we discuss its terminals, you will get to know that BOS Airport has a total of four passenger terminals. Additionally, there are 102 gate positions at BOS, which surprisingly makes it to the top 10 busiest airports in America.
Around 96,621 aircraft movements happen every year at BOS Airport. It is because of its colossal size, about 2,384 acres. In addition, there are 20.7 million travelers across the globe that depart every year from this airport.
6. Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport serves the popular area of Miami in Florida. This international airport (MIA Airport code) is located 13 kilometers to the northwest of the Miami City Center. Additionally, it functions as a hub for the Southeastern United States. There are over three terminals containing 131 gates in total at MIA. Also, this airport in Florida is spread around 3,230 acres.
Now, if we talk about its passenger capacity, it has approx 21.2 million of it. In addition, about 4,12,995 aircraft movements occur at this airport. The bigger size of this airport is considered the main factor in dealing with so many movements and passengers. Truly, MIA deserves to be included in the top 10 busiest airports in the U.S.
7. Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
The Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, also known as Wold-Chamberlain Airport, owns the MSP Airport code.It is a public international airport. This airport is located 10 miles from downtown Minneapolis as well as downtown Saint Paul.
MSP has become famous due to its massive passenger traffic of about 19.1 million. Not only does it come among the top busiest airports in the United States, but it is also enlisted as the largest airport in the Upper Midwest locality of Minnesota. It has two terminals along with 131 gates. It expands over an area of 2,930 acres. The aircraft movements at this airport are around 4,03,151 each year.
8. Philadelphia International Airport
Philadelphia International Airport, referred to by its PHL Airport code, is the primary international airport serving the city of Philadelphia. This airport serves around 16 million passengers every year. It is located 11 kilometers from the downtown area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Due to high aircraft movements, PHL Airport is counted among the top 10 busiest airports in the U.S. This airport has six terminals having 126 gates in total. The large area of it is astonishing, constituting about 2,598 acres of the surface.
9. Detroit Metro International Airport
Coming to our second-last inclusion on the list of the busiest airports in the U.S., we will now read about Detroit Metro International Airport. It is also known as Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. This airport is located in Romulus, Michigan. It has spread over a land area of 4,850 acres and serves around 18.1 million travelers.
Coded by its DTW Airport code, it has two terminals and six runways. It has 129 service gates spread all over the airport, which makes it easy for passengers to travel.
10. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is a vast public airport in the city of Broward County, Florida. This airport (FLL Airport code) is amongst the airports that serve the Miami Metropolitan Area. It has a surface area of 1,380 acres and consists of four terminals. Passenger traffic of about 17.9 million can be seen at FLL almost every year.
Why it comes in the top 10 busiest airports in America is because of the aircraft movements. FLL Airport has around 2,27,089 aircraft movements throughout the year.
Conclusion
The United States of America is the hub for international airports carrying many passengers all over the year. These passengers exist in millions, as you read here. In this blog, we enlisted the top 10 busiest airports in America that every traveler must know. We hope that this blog will help you choose a suitable airport for initiating your trips. With their professional flying services, you can make unforgettable memories on your journey.
Which airport among the above-mentioned ones surprised you the most in terms of traffic? Share your views with us in the comment section below.