All Airports Around the World Mapped
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Airports are conveniences to park and support aircraft and a control tower. An airport consists of a landing area, which contains an aerially open space including at least one operationally active surface such as a runway for a plane or a helipad, and often includes adjoining service structures. Larger airports have airport aprons, air traffic control centers, eateries, and lounges.
An airport only serving helicopters is called a heliport. An airport for use by seaplane aircraft is named a seaplane base. Such a base comprises a stretch of open water and seaplane docks.
The map below shows almost 65 thousand existing airports.
Table of Contents
Here is the map of airports by type.
Airports by Type
Small airports account for more than half of all airports in the world (36,307). The total number of heliports in the world is 15,267. The number of medium and large airports is 4,513 and 653, respectively. In addition, there are 1,064 seaplane bases and 37 balloon ports worldwide.
College Park Airport, established in 1909 In Maryland (U.S.) by Wilbur Wright, is acknowledged as the world’s oldest continuously functioning airfield, although it operates only in general aviation traffic.
Hamburg Airport, which opened in January 1911, is the oldest commercial international airport worldwide, which is still in operation.
Atlanta International Airport was the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic from 1998 to 2019 by serving about 110 million travelers every year, dropping its title in 2020 due to the effect of the coronavirus pandemic and being exceeded by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport as a result.
Top 10 world’s busiest airports in 2020 by the total number of passengers
- Guangzhou, China (CAN) – 43,767,558
- Atlanta, United States (ATL) – 42,918,685
- Chengdu, China (CTU) – 40,741,509
- Dallas/Fort Worth, United States (DFW) – 39,364, 990
- Shenzhen, China (SZX) – 37,916,054
- Beijing, China (PEK) – 34,513,827
- Denver CO, United States (DEN) – 33,741,129
- Kunming, China (KMG) – 32,990,805
- Shanghai, China (SHA) – 31,165,641
- Xi’an, China (XIY) – 31,073,924
Airports by Altitude
For making a map of airports by altitude I used WorldClim elevation data.
The highest altitude airport is in India, at an altitude of 6.7 kilometers (4.2 miles). The highest heliport Siachen Glacier AFS is also in India, at 7.2 kilometers (4.5 miles). The airport with the lowest altitude is Bar Yehuda Airfield in Israel (-378 meters / -1240 feet).
Airports with the highest altitude
| Type | Altitude, m | Name | Country | Airport Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heliport | 6705 | Siachen Glacier AFS Airport | India | IN-0001 |
| Small Airport | 5068 | Daulat Beg Oldi Advanced Landing Ground | India | IN-0003 |
| Medium Airport | 4367 | Daocheng Yading Airport | China | ZUDC |
| Large Airport | 3282 | Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport | Peru | SPZO |
| Seaplane Base | 1992 | Yellowstone Seaplane Base | United States | US-1087 |
| Balloonport | 1713 | Palisades Field | United States | 59ID |
Airports with the lowest altitude
| Type | Altitude, m | Name | Country | Airport Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium Airport | -378 | Bar Yehuda Airfield | Israel | LLMZ |
| Small Airport | -66 | Furnace Creek Airport | United States | KL06 |
| Heliport | -37 | Riverside County Sheriff Thermal Heliport | United States | US-1151 |
| Seaplane Base | -19 | Acushnet River Seaplane Base | United States | 6MA8 |
| Large Airport | -7 | Heydar Aliyev International Airport | Azerbaijan | UBBB |
| Balloonport | 2 | Cudjoe Key South TARS Site | United States | US-2457 |
Airports by Average Temperature
According to Worldclim data, Jack F. Paulus Skiway airport in Antarctica is the coldest airport in the world. The average annual temperature in this airfield is -48.4°С (-55.12°F). On the other hand, Eritrean Assab International is the hottest airport globally, with an average yearly temperature of +30.9°С (+87.62°F).
Hottest airports by average annual temperature
| Type | Average temperature, °С | Name | Country | Airport Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium Airport | +30.9 | Assab International Airport | Eritrea | HHSB |
| Small Airport | +30.7 | Kaédi Airport | Mauritania | GQNK |
| Heliport | +30.6 | Arafat General Hospital Heliport | Saudi Arabia | SA-0016 |
| Large Airport | +29.7 | Khartoum International Airport | Sudan | HSSS |
| Seaplane Base | +28.8 | Niyama Private Islands Seaplane Base | Maldives | MV-0008 |
| Balloonport | +25.0 | Cudjoe Key South TARS Site | United States | US-2457 |
Coldest airports by average annual temperature
| Type | Average temperature, °С | Name | Country | Airport Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium Airport | -48.4 | Jack F. Paulus Skiway | Antarctica | AQ-0005 |
| Small Airport | -27.1 | Summit Ice Landing Strip | Greenland | GL-0006 |
| Heliport | -16.1 | Station Nord Heliport | Greenland | BGNO |
| Seaplane Base | -13.9 | Cambridge Bay Seaplane Base | Canada | CJD7 |
| Large Airport | -5.1 | Yellowknife International Airport | Canada | CYZF |
| Balloonport | +4.3 | Palisades Field | United States | 59ID |
Airports by Wind Speed
Winds by themselves are seldom the cause of accidents, but the winds are one of the principal factors that affect an aircraft’s flight. The map below created using the mean wind speed data at the location for the ten years presented at the Technical University of Denmark website.
Windiest airports
| Type | Wind speed, m/s | Name | Country | Airport Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heliport | 14.68 | Berthoud Pass Heliport | United States | CD37 |
| Small Airport | 11.22 | Mont Llaret Pic d’Aude Airfield | France | FR-0296 |
| Seaplane Base | 9.24 | Minstrel Island Seaplane Base | Canada | CAX7 |
| Medium Airport | 8.92 | Matsu Nangan Airport | Taiwan | RCFG |
| Large Airport | 6.81 | Hato International Airport | Curaçao / Netherland | TNCC |
| Ballonport | 5.30 | Lydiard Park | Great Britain | GB-0682 |
The Most Dangerous Airports in the World
1. Tenzing-Hillary Airport (Nepal) at an altitude of almost 2,900 meters (9,500 ft), with the changeable Himalayan weather.
2. Princess Juliana International Airport (Sint Maarten) has just over 2,286 meters (7,500 ft) in length, which puts it right on the limit for larger jets coming.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport (Portugal) faces severe crosswinds due to its position in the Atlantic Ocean.
4. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Washington DC) needs pilots to make a twisting visual way to bypass high-profile buildings, including The White House and The Pentagon.
5. Paro Airport (Bhutan) with an airstrip squeezed between the peaks of the Himalayas.
great info, thanks for sharing!