The 30 largest airports and airlines in the United States of America

The largest airports in the USA

The USA is in many respects a country of gigantomania. Thus, US airports are often a bit larger than in other countries. In the statistics of international aviation organizations, numerous U.S. airports regularly appear among the world's largest, and the figures for passengers and cargo handled are quite impressive. Year after year, a significant portion of the top lists consist of U.S. airports. It is estimated that U.S. airports handle half of the world's air traffic.

Oldest airport in the world: College Park, Maryland

In fact, the history of aviation also began in the United States. The Wright brothers founded the world's first airport in College Park, Maryland, in 1909. In 1911, the first civilian flight took off from there. The airport has been in operation without interruption to this day. With only one runway of 2,607 feet in length, it does not play a significant role in international air traffic. However, the aviation museum, which has been attached to the airport since 1981, has regularly attracted numerous aviation enthusiasts since its opening. Among other things, the museum has its own hangar with 10 historic airplanes and helicopters.

Entering the USA

Those wishing to enter the USA from abroad first have to overcome a few hurdles. Entry is possible either with a visa or the electronic entry permit "ESTA." A passport is not sufficient. While the visa must be applied for in advance, ESTA is much easier in theory. Once issued, it allows any number of entries for up to 90 days each over a period of two years. But the ESTA must also be issued in advance, otherwise the airlines will refuse the departure from the home country.

The controls at US airports are known to take comparatively long and are stricter than in many other countries. One of the reasons for this is that officials are given much more extensive discretionary powers. For example, the border official can decide to refuse or shorten a visa that has already been issued. Questioning and searches of cell phones and laptops have been permitted at any time for years for security reasons.

Particularly fast passage through the immigration counters is possible in Boston, Dallas, Denver, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Washington D.C. Significantly more time should be allowed in Los Angeles, Miami and at JFK New York.

Freight volume

In 2020, a total of 40.79 billion ton-kilometers (= total mass transported in tons multiplied by kilometers traveled) of cargo was moved by air in the United States of America. John F Kennedy International Airport alone accounted for around 1.46 million metric tons.

The biggest airlines based in the United States of America

The largest airline in the country with scheduled passenger traffic and in terms of fleet size is American Airlines. In 2021, it carried 165.68 million passengers. It currently has a fleet of 1440 aircrafts. The main airlines for civil passenger traffic in the United States of America are: