US airports — frequently asked
How many commercial airports are in the US?
The United States has roughly 634 airports with scheduled passenger service and IATA codes — 95 classified as 'large' by size and around 400 as 'medium'. Around 30 hubs handle the majority of domestic traffic. Alaska alone has over 150 airports with scheduled service, often via small-carrier PSO routes.
Which is the busiest US airport?
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) has been the world's busiest airport by passenger count for most of the last two decades, handling around 108 million passengers a year. Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Denver (DEN) are second and third.
What are the main New York City airports?
New York is served by three major commercial airports: John F. Kennedy (JFK) for long-haul international, Newark Liberty (EWR) across the Hudson in New Jersey, and LaGuardia (LGA) mostly for domestic. Stewart International (SWF) to the north offers some budget flights.
Which US airports are international hubs?
ATL, DFW, DEN, LAX, ORD, JFK, MIA, SFO, SEA, IAD, EWR, BOS and IAH are the primary international gateways. American Airlines, Delta and United each operate extensive international networks from their respective hubs.
What's the difference between 'large' and 'medium' hub airports?
The FAA classifies airports by enplanements: large hubs handle >1% of annual US passenger boardings (around 30 airports), medium hubs handle 0.25–1%, and small hubs handle 0.05–0.25%. On this page we map OurAirports' size tiers — large, medium, small — which correlate closely with those FAA categories.
Which US states have the most commercial airports?
Alaska leads by a wide margin with over 150 airports with scheduled service, reflecting the state's geography and reliance on air travel. Texas, California, Florida, Montana and New York round out the top states by airport count.
Do I need TSA PreCheck at every US airport?
TSA PreCheck is available at more than 200 airports nationwide and works at every TSA checkpoint operated under the federal program. Smaller regional airports with only TSA-contracted or state-operated screening may not support it — check individual airport pages before you travel.
Which are the smallest US airports still served by scheduled flights?
Airports like Decatur (DEC), Thief River Falls (TVF), Kingman (IGM) and Kearney (EAR) receive only a few hundred weekly passengers through the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, which subsidises flights to rural communities. These are the smallest dots on this directory.