When talking about an airport’s size, busyness, and capacity are often used interchangeably. While busyness most of the time refers to an airport’s annual passenger throughput, size refers to the actual land area the airport occupies.

As the largest airport on this list suggests, the two are not necessarily related to each other. That’s why we’ll explore which commercial airports are actually the largest in the world by land size.

10

Shanghai Pudong International

15.4 sq miles / 40.0 km²

Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) is the tenth-largest airport in the world by land size, reaching 40.0 km². However, with almost 77 million passengers in 2024, the airport is also one of the world’s busiest. This made the airport also the tenth-busiest airport in the world by passenger volume, and the busiest airport in China. Besides being a large passenger hub, the airport is also one of the world’s leading cargo hubs with cargo volumes approaching 3.8 million metric tons in 2024, making it the second-busiest cargo airport after Hong Kong International Airport (HKG).

Since the airport is a key hub in China, many of the countries’ airlines have a strong presence at Pudong. The airport serves as the main hub for China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines, as well as for the privately owned Juneyao Air and Spring Airlines. Furthermore, China Southern Airlines uses the airport as a secondary hub, and it serves an important role in Air China‘s international network. In terms of cargo, the airport is home to all three of the large integrators, FedEx, UPS and DHL, serving as their Asia-Pacific hubs.

As of writing, the airport is undertaking multiple massive expansion projects, including the construction of a new terminal with capacity for 50 million annual passengers and additional runways. Additionally, the current terminal is being expanded with a new satellite terminal. These projects will support the airport’s growth to 130 million annual passengers.

9

George Bush Intercontinental Airport

17.2 sq miles / 44.5 km²

George Bush Intercontinental Airport(IAH) is the world’s ninth-largest airport in terms of land size at 44.5 km². The airport serves as one of the most important hubs for United Airlines. In 2024, the airport welcomed 48.5 million passengers, making it only the 15th busiest airport in the United States.

The airport has five terminals connected by a people mover, with Terminals D and E facilitating international arrivals and departures. Terminal D has the required facilities to welcome superjumbos such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380. Houston serves as an important international gateway to the U.S. and, for a brief moment in 2017 and 2019, the airport had direct flights to all inhabited continents.

The reason the airport grew so large in land size is because the city strategically acquired a vast amount of cheap land north of the city when planning the airport in the 1960s, allowing for future expansion and growth as a major international gateway.

8

Orlando International Airport

18.1 sq miles / 46.9 km²

Orlando International Airport (MCO) is best known as a gateway to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort. However, with 46.9 km², it is also one of the world’s largest airports by land area. Besides being the seventh-largest airport in terms of size, Orlando is also the ninth busiest in the U.S. with over 57 million passengers in 2024. Perhaps somewhat surprising to some is that the airport is the busiest in Florida, exceeding Miami International Airport (MIA).

Compared to most other large U.S. airports, Orlando is not a major hub for any of the three major US airlines, something that is primarily caused by the strong leisure profile Orlando has as a destination, and a phenomenon that can also be observed at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport (LAS). Instead, Orlando is the operating base for more low-cost and leisure-oriented airlines such as Breeze Airways, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines, as well as a focus city for JetBlue.

The airport has three terminals and four runways, and also features an “intermodal terminal” where passengers can connect onto high-speed railway services of Brightline to Southern Florida. The reason for the airport’s large land size has to do with its history as McCoy Air Force Base. This Air Force Base is also the reason the airport has the “MCO” IATA code.

7

Beijing Daxing Intl. Airport

18.1 sq miles / 47.0 km²

Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) is the newest of two international airports serving the Chinese capital, Beijing. The other airport is Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK). The construction of Daxing Airport was only completed in June 2019, with operations commencing in September that same year. The airport has a massive land size of 47.0 km² and welcomed almost 50 million passengers in 2024.

Today, Daxing Airport is a hub for SkyTeam and oneworld member airlines, while most Star Alliance members, as well as Hainan Airlines, remain at the older and busier Beijing Capital Airport.

The airport has four runways, of which one is in use exclusively for military operations. During planning, the airport was planned to be able to handle 120 to 200 million annual passengers, which, if reached, would make it the largest airport in the world. However, the current facilities only allow for 72 million passengers.

6

Washington Dulles Intl Airport

18.5 sq miles / 47.8 km²

Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is the main airport serving the U.S. capital, Washington, DC with a land size of 47.8 km² and over 27 million passengers in 2024. Although the airport grabs a spot on this list of the largest airports in terms of area, its relatively small passenger volume keeps it far outside the top 50 busiest airports worldwide. In 2024, Dulles was the 24th busiest airport in the United States.

The two other airports serving the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area, Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (NCA), both handle roughly the same number of passengers at 27 and 26 million annual passengers, respectively. Dulles is an important hub for United Airlines and is also often used by other Star Alliance members. These airlines often use the airport as a gateway to the U.S. through codeshare agreements with United.

Dulles has only one terminal with satellite terminals (concourses), where the majority of boarding gates are located. The reason for the airport having such a large land size is its four large runways, most of which exceed three kilometers in length, and its forward-thinking during the initial planning for future expansion.

5

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

26.9 sq miles / 69.7 km²

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is one of the largest airports in the world by all measures. The airport has a massive land size of 69.7 km², making it the fifth-largest in the world. Additionally, it is the third-largest airport in the world by passenger volume, with 87.8 million passengers in 2024.

This also makes it the second-largest airport in the United States, behind Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The airport is the largest hub for American Airlines, which also has its headquarters near the airport. After Delta Air Lines’ hub in Atlanta, this is the second-largest airline hub in the world.

Dallas-Fort Worth has six terminals with a total of 224 gates, with American having operations at all of them. Terminal D is the main international terminal and is equipped with the required facilities and parking space for superjumbos such as the Airbus A380. Similar to other airports on this list, the large size of the airport has to do with accounting for future expansion in its planning phase. Dallas-Fort Worth is also the world’s largest carbon-neutral airport and the first in North America to reach this status.

4

Istanbul Airport

29.5 sq miles / 76.5 km²

Istanbul Airport(IST) is the largest of two international airports serving Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul. The airport replaced the old Atatürk airport in 2019, and also took over its IATA code. The new airport is the fourth-largest airport worldwide in land size and the largest privately owned airport by land size. In 2024, the airport was the seventh-largest in passenger volume, handling over 80 million passengers. This makes it the second busiest in Europe after London Heathrow Airport (LHR).

Turkish Airlines has its primary hub at Istanbul Airport, making it one of the best-connected airports in the world, since Turkish has the most international destinations of any airline. In fact, over 60 million passengers were traveling to destinations outside of Turkey in 2024. And when considering Turkish’s ambitions to become one of the largest airlines in the world, the airport’s connectivity is only expected to grow.

Currently, the airport has only one terminal in use with five runways. The terminal is divided into five concourses with 143 boarding bridges. The reason for the airport being this large reflects Turkey’s and Turkish Airlines’ ambitions to become a leader in the global aviation industry. Important to note is also that the airport has not been fully completed, and new runways and terminal capacity are still under construction. By 2027, the airport will have a capacity of 150 million annual passengers and, once fully completed, capacity will reach up to 200 million passengers.

3

Kuala Lumpur International Airport

38.6 sq miles / 100 km²

Kuala Lumpur International Airport(KUL) is the largest and busiest airport in Malaysia. In 2024, the airport handled around 57 million passengers, making it the 26th busiest airport in the world. And although this does not rank the airport in the top 10 busiest airports in Asia, it does rank as the second largest in terms of land size at 100 km².

The airport is the home base of Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia, which is also the airline with the largest market share at the airport. In 2024, the airport became first in OAG’s Global Low-Cost Megahubs index with 1,188 possible low-cost connections across over 137 destinations. Besides being a large low-cost hub, the airport is also the world’s second most connected airport in 2024, with 33,411 possible connections, according to the OAG Megahub Index. The airport is primarily an important hub for the Malaysian flag carrier Malaysia Airlines and its alliance oneworld.

The reason for the airports’ large size is similar to many airports on this list related to future-proofing for growth. The airport currently features three runways and two main terminals, with Terminal 1 also featuring a separate satellite terminal.

2

Denver International Airport

53.2 sq miles / 137.8 km²

Denver International Airport (DEN) is the largest airport in the United States by land size, with an impressive 137.8 km². This puts the airport in second spot worldwide in terms of land size. In terms of passenger volume, Denver is the third-busiest airport in the United States and sixth in the world, handling over 82 million passengers in 2024.

Denver Airport is one of the largest and most important hubs for United Airlines. Furthermore, it serves the largest operating base for both Southwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines. The latter of which has its home base at the airport. The airport was the fourth airport in the United States to exceed 200 nonstop destinations.

The airport has six runways, with one runway being the longest civil runway in North America at a length of 3.03 miles (4.88 km). For passenger flights, there is only one terminal with gates divided over three satellite concourses connected by an underground train. Similar to other U.S. airports, Denver’s size has largely to do with future-proofing for growth. However, a second reason does play an important role for the airport. It’s high altitude of 5,430′ (1,655 m) and requires longer runways for safe and efficient operations.

1

King Fahd International Airport

300 sq miles / 776 km²

Dammam King Fahd International Airport (DMM) makes all other airports on this list seem small. The airport has a massive area footprint of 776 km². Despite this size, the airport only welcomed around 12 million passengers in 2024, making it the busiest airport on this list. It is the third-largest airport in Saudi Arabia.

Today, the airport serves as an operating base for Saudi low-cost airlines Flynas and Flyadeal. Previously, the airport also served as a hub for flag carrier Saudia.

The airport is built in the middle of the desert and only a small section of the total land area is actually operational. It has two runways of 2.5 miles (4 km) long, one passenger terminal, and two VIP terminals. One of these VIP terminals is exclusively reserved for the royal family. Reasons for the airport being so big are future-proofing, as well as its location in the desert, which enables it to expand cheaply.