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Aviation

What is the Largest Airport?

The largest airport in the world in the early 1940s was Gander International Airport, in Newfoundland. Though it still operates today, Gander has been far surpassed by Saudi Arabia's King Fahd International Airport, which takes up just over 300 square miles (around 780 square km), making it the largest airport in the world in terms of area. To put that in perspective, it is more than 75 times the size of London's Heathrow Airport.

More facts about airports:

  • The busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic is Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. In 2009 the airport handled over 88 million passengers.

  • The oldest continually operating airport is College Park Airport, in Maryland. It was founded in 1909 by Wilbur Wright and remains in use.

  • The airport with the highest elevation is Qamdo Bangda Airport, in Tibet. It is located about 14,000 feet (about 4,000 meters) above sea level. Passengers landing there often experience altitude sickness.

  • The airport that experiences the most delayed flights per year is Brasilia International Airport. It is estimated that less than 30% of flights there take off within 15 minutes of their scheduled take off time.

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