Thanks to its status as the home base for FedEx, Memphis International Airport is North America’s busiest airport for cargo. FedEx employs 11,000 people at Memphis International and leases 34 million square feet of airport space, operating around 400 flights per day.

The Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers come together near an area that was once known as Hog Island, which is now the site of Philadelphia International Airport. Hog Island was buried in the early 20th century so it could be used for industrial development. Another part of the former Hog Island is now used as a marine discharging terminal by Sun Refining and Marketing Company.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport covers more than 27 square miles, which is larger than the island of Manhattan. The airport has its own firefighters, police force, and jail — and in 2018, it became the first airport with its own emergency room, located just outside airport security clearance. The facility includes CT scanners, a pharmacy, X-ray, and ultrasound machines.

In 1972, New York’s JFK Airport held a 10K race to raise funds for their rotary club. The race began at the Ramada Plaza JFK Hotel parking lot and continued to the airport runway, before turning around and ending back at the hotel. The race was held in this format annually until 2002, when it was shortened to a 5K. It now takes place mainly on the runway itself and raises funds for more than 15 local charities.

The Atlanta Speedway was constructed in 1909 under Asa Candler, who was both Atlanta Mayor and the founder of Coca-Cola. The land was chosen for the track because it was the flattest in the area, which also made it ideal for runways. Delta’s corporate headquarters and the Delta Flight Museum are also now located on the site of the former race track, on the north end of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Some airports have obvious three-letter IATA codes, such as JFK for New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The origins of some airport codes are a little less clear. Orlando gets its abbreviation from Colonel Michael Norman Wright McCoy, who was killed during a bombing and navigation competition. An air force base took his name, and that air force base was later turned into Orlando International Airport.

The Concorde was a supersonic passenger plane that began service in 1976, with its first flights connecting London to Bahrain, and Paris to Rio de Janeiro. Initially, the United States had a nationwide ban on the Concorde due to the plane’s loud sonic boom. Eventually, the ban was lifted in two locations: Washington, D.C. and New York City. D.C.’s Dulles International was the first to receive Concorde service.

Orlando International Airport features five people movers that shuttle passengers to terminals, rental car locations, and parking. The two oldest AirTrains feature a well-known voice: Jack Wagner. The voice actor recorded many of the original announcements at Disneyland in California, some of which are still used today — both in California and at Orlando’s Disney World. On the older air trains, passengers can hear him say, “Stand clear of the closing doors.”

Travelers will find a 72-foot brachiosaurus skeleton inside Chicago O’Hare’s Terminal 1, Concourse B. The skeleton is on loan from Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, and it moved away from the museum to make room for a giant new Tyrannosaurus named “Sue” in 1999. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport also has a dinosaur connection: It was built on a site where a 70-million-year-old Plesiosaur was discovered.

Now a staple in airports worldwide, the first airport Starbucks location opened at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in 1991 — a fitting move given the coffee chain's first store ever was opened in Seattle. In the following two decades, Starbucks expanded to 78 airports in the U.S. and Canada. As of 2023, Chicago O’Hare offers the greatest single collection of airport Starbucks, with 14 locations throughout its four terminals.

Now named for former Senator Harry Reid, Las Vegas’s McCarran International Airport (as it was called at the time) was the first major airport to offer free, unlimited Wi-Fi in 2010. McCarran Airport owned its own airport-wide communications structure, which was unusual among airports at the time.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport carries more international passengers than any other airport in the country. LAX, Miami, San Francisco, and Chicago O’Hare make up the top five airports for international travel. According to Cirium, international flights make up about 9% of all U.S. flights.

In 1961, the futuristic-looking Theme Building opened at the center of Los Angeles International Airport, with a dedication by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. Intended to look like a flying saucer that landed on four legs, the 135-foot-tall building featured a restaurant and a 360-degree observation deck. The restaurant inside the Theme Building is no longer open, but the observation deck is.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport pays tribute to its hometown legend, recording artist Prince, at a store in Terminal 1 simply called Prince. The store displays music videos and an array of memorabilia, artwork, books, CDs, and vinyl — all in a sea of purple. Fans can also buy tickets to tour Prince’s home and studio, Paisley Park.

Dulles International Airport, serving the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, once went by the simple acronym DIA. To avoid confusion with DCA, the code for Washington National Airport (now called Ronald Reagan International Airport), the letters were shuffled around. Dulles now goes by IAD.

Washington, D.C. is home to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Houston has George Bush International Airport, and JFK Airport is found in Queens, New York. The Chicago metropolitan area is home to two major commercial airports: O’Hare, named for naval aviator Lieutenant Commander Edward H. Butch O’Hare, and Midway, named in honor of the World War II Battle of Midway.

Harry Reid International Airport, located just off the Las Vegas Strip, allows passengers to place their first and last bets into and out of Sin City. More than 1,300 slot machines can be found scattered across the airport’s two terminals. The slot machines rake in around $40 million per year in gross revenue. Reno-Tahoe Airport, also located in Nevada, features around 200 slot machines.

With 43 million seats scheduled each year, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the busiest hub for Delta Air Lines. The airline’s headquarters are also located near the airport. American Airlines centers its largest operation around Dallas-Fort Worth, while United has shifted its busiest hub from Chicago O’Hare to Denver, and JetBlue’s top hub is New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Denver International may only be the third-busiest airport in the world, but its land area of 84.3 square makes it the largest airport in the United States by area. Denver’s six runways are spaced across 4,200 feet, and the airport boasts a single runway of 16,000 feet that is the longest public runway in the U.S.

Five of the 10 busiest airports in the world each year (by total number of passengers) are found in the United States. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport had its 22-year streak as the world’s busiest airport broken in 2020, thanks to the global air travel downturn resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Atlanta regained the top spot the following year, and in 2022, nearly 94 million passengers passed through Hartsfield-Jackson, securing its position at the top.