How Many Airports are There in the U.S.?
The United States takes third place in the world by territory, with over 9.8 million square kilometers and a variety of landscape types and climate zones. That’s why air travel and cargo transportation are prevalent in this country. In addition, the United States is one of the top five most visited countries in the world. According to the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) data, the average passenger rate for US airports is around 3 million people per day. 26% (over 5,000) airports are state-owned and 74% (about 14,000) are private ones.
FAA Airport Subcategories
The FAA rates the airports into four sub-categories. The ranking is based on the number of passengers served by the airport each year. It means that by the end of the year, any USA airport could be in a different category. The sub-categories names thus don’t reflect the actual size of the airport (which can be quite big for a Small sub-category). The airport rated as Small Hub (e.g., ALB) can also serve a considerable number of travelers (over 1.5 M).