What Are the 10 Biggest Airports in the World?

King Fahd International Airport, which began offering commercial flights in 1999, is the largest airport in the world by total area. For comparison, King Fahd Airport is approximately the same size as New York City, which itself contains two major airports within its city limits.

Even though it's the world's biggest airport, it's not the busiest airport in Saudi Arabia (that would be King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the main entry point for devout Muslims making the Hajj to Mecca and Medina). King Fahd International Airport's size mainly owes to its past as an American military base.

The city of Denver is approximately 155 square miles (401 square kilometers), and one-third of that is the Denver airport. DIA is well to the east of central Denver, in an area that was rural farmland.

Exurban sprawl has filled in the space between the city and Denver International Airport, which opened in 1995. But DIA's land mass is already locked in at 53.09 square miles (135.7 square kilometers). An elaborate system of underground trains connects the main terminal of Denver International Airport to various gate areas.

Situated in the Texas prairie between the major cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, DFW airport, the third largest airport in the world, which opened in 1974, may be quite familiar to American Airlines passengers.

It's the airline's headquarters and a major point for flight transfers and aircraft movements. These transfers give travelers a true sense of the airport's Texas-sized sprawl.

As one of the world's biggest airports, it also has the traffic to support that size: It's the second-busiest airport in the United States by total passenger traffic.

Orlando International Airport's official airport code is MCO, and this comes from its past as McCoy Air Force Base, which operated on the property until 1975. Its total acreage of Orlando International Airport befits an Air Force base.

But unlike the world's largest airport, King Fahd International, Orlando International Airport makes a lot of use of its space. Orlando International Airport is the busiest airport in Florida and the seventh busiest in the United States.

The Washington, D.C., metropolitan area has three major airports, and all three have very similar levels of passenger traffic.

Yet when it comes to total area, Washington Dulles International Airport easily bests its sibling international airports, Ronald Reagan National Airport and Baltimore Washington International Airport.

When the airport opened in 1962, it was in a thoroughly rural area west of Washington, D.C., which the airport serves. Today the booming Virginia suburbs surround it, which makes the airport's sheer size seem a bit less overwhelming.

By total area, Beijing Daxing International Airport is the sixth-largest in the world. However, PKX tops the charts by another metric: terminal size.

All told, its terminal space is 7.5 million square feet (696,773 square meters). It has a star-shaped design to aid some inter-airline connections for passengers with international destinations.

In terms of total passenger traffic, PKX isn't listed as one of the busiest in the world, but this is partly because it's newer than others on this list; the airport opened in 2019. It is projected to become the world's busiest airport by 2040.

By far the larger of Houston's two airports, George Bush Intercontinental, formerly Houston Intercontinental Airport, has a total area of 17.19 square miles (44.5 square kilometers). While it trails its Texas cousin DFW in total passenger traffic, it exceeds it in international arrivals and departures.

True to its name, the commercial airport offers flights to all the world's continents except Antarctica. It has been a major hub for United Airlines since a 2010 merger with Continental Airlines. Contained within the IAH acreage are five runways, five terminals and an on-site hotel.

Opened in 1999, PVG is Shanghai's main airport. East of Shanghai, the airport is one of the busiest in China. If you find yourself spending any considerable amount of time at PVG, you'll be glad to know there's plenty of entertainment options.

CAI is one of the busiest airports in Africa. Originally the airport's location served as an airfield during World War II before becoming a commercial airport. Cairo International eventually replaced that airport in the 1960s.

BKK is Thailand's main airport. It may only have one terminal but it has plenty of space, which comes in handy as it is in the top 20 busiest airports in the world.

Here are a few other large airports that didn't make the cut.

Kuala Lumpar International Airport (KUL)

The area accounts for the size of the property.

Istanbul Airport (IST)

While fully functional, IST is still under construction.

The size of an airport doesn't necessarily translate to the most foot traffic. Some of the busiest airports aren't the largest, though there is some overlap. In 2023, the busiest airports, based on passengers served, were: