An airport is necessary in air transportation because it provides space for planes to land and take off. An airport always has a landing strip, runway, or helipad, as well as utility buildings such as terminals and hangars. There are small airports, large airports, and massive airports in terms of area covered. The Middle East is home to some of the world’s largest airports, the largest of which being King Fahd International Airport in Saudi Arabia. It is more nearly 78,000 hectares greater than neighboring Bahrain (76,000). The top five airports in the world are discussed further below.

The World’s Largest Airports

1. King Fahd International Airport – Dammam, Saudi Arabia (77,600 hectares)

The King Fahd International Airport (KFIA) in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, is the world’s largest airport, spanning 78,000 hectares. The airport was designed in 1976 by Yamsaki & Associates architects in collaboration with Aerosystems International. Construction started in 1983 and was finished in 1999, when commercial operations commenced.

The airport has a massive 6-story passenger terminal with three levels dedicated to passenger processing: arrivals, departures, and boarding. The passenger terminal is 3,520,000 square feet in size and features 66 client counters for Saudi airlines and 44 for foreign carriers. The remaining counters are for customs and immigration.

The airport has a mosque built on the parking garage’s roof, with architectural elements that merge modern and traditional Islamic forms with seating for 2,000 worshippers. There is also a royal terminal for the royal family, prominent government officials, and international ambassadors at the airport. The royal terminal is 177,000 square feet in size.

2. Denver International Airport – Denver, USA (13,571 hectares)

Denver International Airport (DIA) is the world’s second largest airport in terms of land size, as well as the largest in the United States. It may be found in Denver, Colorado. It covers a total of 13,726 hectares. The airport features the country’s longest public runway. With nonstop flights to 187 destinations in Europe, Asia, North America, and Latin America, DIA is the third busiest domestic airport in the United States.

From 2005 to 2010, the airport was chosen the best in North America six years in a row, and Time Magazine named it the best-run airport in America in 2002. The airport serves as Frontier Airlines’ primary hub and United Airlines’ fourth-largest hub.

3. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport – Dallas, USA (6,963 hectares)

With a land area of 7,800 hectares, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in Dallas, Texas is the world’s third biggest airport by land area. Aside from this distinction, it is also one of the busiest airports in the world. DFW serves approximately 200 locations worldwide. Los Angeles, California is the most popular destination, followed by Chicago, Illinois. There are five terminals at the airport.

4. Orlando International Airport – Orlando, USA (5,383 hectares)

Orlando International Airport (MCO) is the busiest airport in Florida and among the busiest in the United States. With a total area of 5,383 hectares, it is the world’s largest airport. It primarily serves the Orlando area of Central Florida, which is a popular tourist destination due to its numerous amusement parks. More than half of Florida’s population can commute to Orlando International Airport in less than two hours.

5. Washington Dulles International Airport – Washington, D.C., USA (4,856 hectares)

Washington Dulles International Airport is located in Virginia. The airport is located in the Virginia counties of Loudoun and Fairfax, 26 miles (42 kilometers) west of downtown Washington, D.C. It is named for John Foster Dulles, President Eisenhower’s Secretary of State.The airport has a total area of 4,856 hectares and serves the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. There are 135 gates at the airport, and it serves over 100 destinations.

Airports in the United States

The United States is home to seven of the world’s fifteen major airports, as seen in the table below. Aside from the four airports mentioned above, the United States also has George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, which is 4,451 hectares in size, O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, which is 2,913 hectares in size, and Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City, Utah, which is 2,830 hectares in size. Despite being among the largest in the country, these airports are not among the busiest. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has over 50 million passengers every year, but Denver International Airport only has 30 million.