We are sure you have been to the airport. It is a vast area with extended facilities, primarily for commercial air transport. Airports located around the world have proper facilities to store and maintain aircraft. And if you talk about the biggest airport in the world, the facilities are surely going to be top-class.
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The airports we will be talking about consist of a landing area. It includes adjacent utility buildings such as control towers, terminals, and hangers. Airport aprons, taxiway bridges, air traffic control centers, are available. Passenger facilities such as restaurants and lodging are also available. They range from medium to large-sized airports.
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Did you know that an airport specially meant for helicopters is known as a heliport? An international airport has various added facilities compared to the national airport. It connects one nation to another.
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So, which is the biggest airport in the world today? Letโs find out.
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is a trade association. Founded in 1945, all the airlines in the world are members of this association. IATA has been described as a cartel. In addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences. These conferences served as a forum for price-fixing.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK)
Dubai International Airport (DBX)
Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) (HND)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
OโHare International Airport (ORD)
Heathrow Airport (LHR)
Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)
Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG)
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG)
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS)
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Beijing Daxing International Airport was declared as the largest airport in the world in recent times.
Location of Beijing Daxing International Airport
The new airport is situated between Beijingโs Daxing district and Langfang. The airport sits 31 miles south of congested Beijing. It is connected to the city by a high-speed train, traveling at speed of up to 217 miles per hour. Passengers from 28 cities across China can reach the airport in just three hours. They can travel using high-speed rail. Its passenger traffic figures are somewhere around 16 million.
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There is an integrated transport center beneath the Daxing terminal. It has a station for high-speed and local rail services linking to Beijing and beyond. Besides, the airport is supported by highways for its effective communication.
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Size and Cost of the Biggest Airport in the World
The huge Beijing Daxing International Airport serves a large number of people. The number was 45 million passengers by 2021 and 72 million by 2025. It is close to the largest airport in the world. Septemberโs initial opening phase features four runways. The number will expand to seven over the years. The long-term goal is to handle over 120 million passengers per year and four million tonnes of cargo. This will launch Daxing above Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. Hartsfield-Jackson is currently the worldโs largest airport. It serviced 107 million passengers in 2018.
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To date, Daxing Airport has cost US$12 billion to build and is expected to offer 630,000 flights per year. Construction has required more than 40,000 workers. It took 52,000 tonnes of steel and 1.6 million cubic meters of concrete. Daxing is Twice the size of Beijingโs existing Capital International Airport. Daxing is spread over 18 square miles, including runways. The huge new Terminal alone covers 700 thousand square meters. It is the total area covered by 97 football pitches, and there will be 268 parking bays.
Construction of Beijing Daxing International Airport
Daxing Airport was designed by the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. Hadid who has created some of the worldโs most innovative buildings. They include the Port House in Antwerp and Bridge Pavilion in Zaragoza. Hadid worked on the futuristic Daxing terminal design with ADP Ingenieฬrie. It is a firm that specializes in airport design after they won the bid for the airport in 2014. After Hadid passed away in 2016, her firm took on the project and will see it through to completion.
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The largest airport in the world boasts a unique phoenix shape. The shape has earned it the nickname โstarfishโ by Chinese media. This looks in complete contrast to Beijing Capital Airportโs dragon-inspired design. The central hub has six curved spokes extending outwards. They reflect traditional Chinese architecture that connects spaces around a central courtyard. This design guides passengers through departure, arrival, and transfer zones. The central cub has all services and amenities.
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This radial design is also intended to decrease passengersโ travel times. It does so by shortening distances from check-in to the gate. This means that passengers will only need to walk eight minutes โ 600 meters. That is the time it takes from the central hub to the farthest gate. Baggage will arrive just 13 minutes after touchdown. Daxing airport also boasts cutting-edge technology such as facial recognition devices.
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It is surrounded bynearly 70 square miles of forest. The top airport design features include five traditional Chinese gardens. They are in the passenger waiting areas for international and domestic flights. Colors and materials that reflect Chinese culture have been used. They have with clean, curved lines and open spaces.
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Flowing pillars run from the vaulted roof. That is where natural light filters in from large windows. Energy efficiency is key to the airportโs design. They have aced the shading strategies and high-performance glazing.
Airlines That Will Operate From Beijing Daxing International Airport
The biggest airport in the world is Beijing Daxing International Airport. It will be the hub for Skyteam, one of the top global airline groups. Its Chinese members include China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. They are two of the countryโs โbig threeโ carriers. Beijing Capital Airlines has also relocated to Daxing. Other Skyteam members such as Korean Air and Delta operate at the airport. Capital International Airport is the base for Air China, Hainan Airlines, and Grand China Air.
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Foreign air carriers can choose whether to use Daxing, Capital, or Nanyuan airport. This is for when they are operating in Beijing. No official statement is out. But Chinese government will consolidate all business and private aviation to Capital International Airport. It is likely to happen once commercial traffic slows. This plan will please business travelers and private jet charter passengers. This is because the old airport is far closer to the city center.
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King Fahd International Airport
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This is the former biggest airport in the world. It is located in Saudi Arabia, is almost six times as big as the second biggest airport in the world. It is even bigger than Saudi Arabiaโs neighboring country: Bahrain. Just imagine the total surface area of the airport. It can handle a passenger traffic figure of almost 10 million. Massive!
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We have seen the opening of the causeway that connects Saudi Arabia with Bahrein. International airlines prefer to schedule stepovers in Bahrein. Bahrein is the biggest airport in the world. But it has lost a considerable amount of international air traffic.
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It has a vast terminal building made up of 6 stories. There is a massive mosque atop the parking lot. The airport is an impressive feat of civil engineering and architecture.
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Five Largest Airports
Here is a list of the five largest airports located in the world as per passenger traffic.
Keeping track of these numbers, Beijing Daxing International is up and running, and it would definitely surpass these figures with expected passengers of close to 120 million!
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
It has been the biggest airport in the world for a large time. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia, USA is the worldโs busiest airport. It is the only airport to serve over 100 million passengers yearly, and has done so for three years running! The chances are that you or someone you know has passed through Hartsfield-Jackson. It is the largest connections hub in North America.
Hartsfield-Jackson is the hub airport for Delta Airlines, AirTran Airways, and smaller airlines. Delta Airlines represents a massive part of Hartsfield-Jacksonโs business. It flies nearly 60% of all ATL passengers.
This world-class airport has held the number one spot for two decades. The people of Atlanta should be very proud of their airport. It is considered a model for others around the world.
Beijing Capital International Airport
Beijing Capital International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Asia. It is the second-largest worldwide, with 95,786,296 passengers in 2017. This airport is presently the third biggest airport in the world.
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It is the hub for several large airlines, including Air China, China Southern Airlines, and Hainan Airlines. Beijing Capital International Airport has been expanding tremendously for the past decade. It has increased its passenger throughput by 1.5% in the past year.
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The Chinese economy is booming. Beijing is becoming one of the worldโs top business centers. Hence, Beijing Capital International Airport will continue to grow. It shows promise to meet the demand for outstanding world-class airport services.
Los Angeles International Airport
It is the second-largest airport in the US. It is the only airport in the world that all three US legacy carriers (American, Delta, and United) have chosen as a hub. It is also a hub for Alaska Airlines, Virgin America, and Atlas Air (a cargo airline). Membership is just $7,500 per year. There is an additional fee of $2,700 for each domestic flight and $3,000 for each international flight. As of 2020, this airport was handling passenger traffic of about 44.8 million people!
Denver International Airport
The total surface area of this airport is 13,571 km2. You can fit two Dallas/Fort Worth airports in one Denver International Airport. Thatโs how big it is! Itโs the biggest in the USA, and no one knows exactly why it was necessary to build such a massive airport.
As one would expect, thereโs a crazy conspiracy theory out there. It says the airfield doubles as a huge bunker from where a lot of shady organizations operate!ย Sixty-fivemillion passengers use the airportโs Terminal. Half of them fly with United Airlines when they do so. Denver is known as a mile-high city because you guessed it, its altitude is 1,609 kilometers.
Yes, thatโs more than a mile. When taking off from Denver, youโre just a short distance away from cruising altitude! That short distance being around nine kilometers.
Orlando International Airport
This airport is the leading international airport in Florida. The surface area is about 53,83 km2. With a total of four runways, 47 million passengers pass by each year.
Itโs surprising to see this airport on the list because no primary carrier uses it as a hub.ย The airfield is just 20 minutes away from the city and the famous amusement parks.
Fort Worth International Airport
The airport is almost exactly half the size of Cardiff, for comparison.ย It has seven operational runways. The airport provides its services to just shy of 70 million passengers.ย Thatโs 10 million passengers per runway. It means one million passengers per square kilometer. The total surface area of the airport is 69,63 km2.
In terms of passenger traffic, it can handle about 39 million people! Be careful, though! The airport is only rated 3.7 out of 5 stars on Google and I donโt see it changing much in the future!
Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Shanghai Pudong was opened in 1999 to ease pressure on Shanghaiโs other airport, Hongqiao. It has become one of the busiest airports located in China. Hongqiao is still a major airport, but it serves primarily domestic flights. Pudong has both domestic and international flights. It is locatedjust under 20 miles east of Shanghaiโs city center. The airport welcomes a grand total of 74 million international passengers per year.
Cairo International Airport(CAI)
Cairo International Airport is the second largest airport outside of the USA. It is the eighth on the list of the worldโs largest airports. Also, it is the biggest in Africa. Finally, it is the second busiest airport in the continent. On the top of the list lies O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
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The airport was used as an Allied Forces base during World War II. After the end of the war, it was transformed into a civilian airport. Then the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority began its administration. It has a passenger traffic capacity of about 7.5 million passengers.
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Today, the airport consists of 3 terminals and three runways. It is the main hub for two of Egyptโs largest carriers- Egypt Air and Nile Air.
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Cairo International Airport is ranked tenth in Skytraxโs Best Airports in Africa 2018 rankings.
John F Kennedy International Airport
John F Kennedy International Airport is the busiest international airport in North America. It is the twentieth busiest airport in the world. John F Kennedy International Airport supports more than ninety airlines. As of 2019, John F Kennedy International Airport could handle 62 million passengers. It was previously known as Idlewild Airport. Following the assassination of the President in 1963, it was renamed as John F Kennedy International Airport.
Largest Airline in the World
American Airlines is the worldโs largest airline, with 950 aircraft in its fleet (100 more than the runner-up, Delta). In 2016, American Airlines handled passenger traffic of nearly 198 million passengers. That is a shocking 50 million more than it did the year before, so donโt count on it losing the number one spot any time soon.
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Its fleet size and passenger numbers are astounding. But it falls behind in terms of the number of countries and destinations served. The worldโs biggest airlines in those categories are Turkish Airlines and UPS Airlines, respectively.
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United Airlines is the safest to travel long distances in terms of safety.
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Theย airportย industry is constantly evolving and innovating. It responds to the ever-changing demands of safety and security. Other factors are technology, public demand, customer service, government requirements, and tenant needs.
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Beijing Daxing International Airport is the biggest airport in the world. But all other airports are of utmost importance to the world. They provide a broad range of communication to every corner of the world. Check out similar articles here!
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