13 Largest Airports in Europe By Area

It’s pretty easy to get lost and confused in an airport, and that can be said especially for the largest airports in Europe by area.

Going to the airport is always extremely tedious and time-consuming. It’s a necessary evil, but it always makes me anxious. It’s not the air travel part that makes me nervous; it’s mostly how long it takes to check bags, get through security, and get to the gate to make sure you’re early enough to find out if your gate was changed or if there are any delays. It’s even more difficult when the airport is massive or has a confusing layout. I’ve gotten lost about three times in the Atlanta airport. When you really think about it and look at the airport map, it’s not that confusing, but it’s so large and I’m not familiar with it, so I ended up wandering around for 40 minutes before I could find baggage claim. It wasn’t a fun experience.

If you’re traveling from the US to Europe, you’re going to have to deal with large European airports. I can imagine this is much more difficult than domestic travel simply because the signs are often in another language and you might not easily find people who speak English to help guide you in the right direction. That’s why it’s quite important to brush up on your language skills before going to another country so you can make sure you’re at least somewhat see sufficient while you try to find your luggage. Airports do, however, show off a country’s rich history. The walkways are sometimes like mini-museums and offer duty-free shopping. This is prevalent in some of the largest and busiest airports in India.

In order to create this list of largest airports in Europe by area, we first checked out SkyScanner to find a list of all the airports around Europe. We then ranked them according to their area, which is measured by hectares. Heathrow Airport in London is the busiest European airport, but I wonder if it’ll make the list of the largest.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the largest airports in Europe by area.

13. Istanbul Ataturk Airport

Area: 1165 ha

This airport operates under the TAV Airport alongside the Ankara Ezenboga, Izmir Adnan Menderes, Milas-Bodrum, and Gazipasa-Alanya Airports. Food and drinks are duty-free. In 2013, the airport was given the “Airport of the Year” award by the ATN News Awards.

12. Heathrow Airport

Area: 1227 ha

Heathrow Airport is one of the most popular destinations for travelers coming in and out of New York, Dubai, Dublin, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong. In 2016, the number of annual passengers reached 75.7 million, which landed it in the top spot for busiest airport of the year.

11. Domodedovo International Airport

Area: 1287 ha

This is the largest airport in Russia and landed at number eleven on our list. About 85 out of the 229 destinations are unique flights and the destinations can only be visited by traveling from this airport.

10. Pulkovo International Airport

Area: 1350 ha

This is one of Russia’s busiest airports. There are 18 million passengers accommodated per year and the most famous destinations are Yakutsk and Seoul.

9. Frankfurt Airport

Area: 1470 ha

Frankfurt Airport was given the “World’s Most Improved Airport” honor in 2013 by Skytrax, an independent aviation market research institute. Approximately 81,000 people are employed here and it’s considered Germany’s biggest job complex.

8. Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport

Area: 1515 ha

During the war, this airport was used for military purposes. It’s a little difficult to get to, so a taxi, bus, or train is the best mode of transport.

7. Paris Orly Airport

Area: 1530 ha

This was the prime airport of Paris before Charles de Gaulle International Airport was constructed. This is the busiest airport in terms of domestic flights and overall passenger boarding.

6. Munich Airport

Area: 1575 ha

14 affiliated companies provide services to this airport. It was built in 1992 and has been in Erdinger Moos for 25 years. There are hotels, restaurants, stores, transit rails, and car parks, which make it a city within an airport. The large size is why it ranks as one of the largest airports in Europe by area.

5. Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport

Area: 2100 ha

This airport offers travel to about 115 destinations. There’s a relaxation area for staff and a drone for track inspection. The airport has continuous innovation to achieve goals.

4. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Area: 2787 ha

Amsterdam Airport Schipol was awarded the “Best Airport – Western Europe” title in 2014 from Skytrax. A green city park was opened in the airport in 2011 to offer a relaxing environment. It was built in 1916, making it the oldest international airport.

3. Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport

Area: 2900 ha

This airport is about 32 kilometers southwest of Rome. Approximately 41.7 million passengers were served here in 2016.

2. Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport

Area: 3050 ha

In 2014, the Madrid National Airport was changed to the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport. It offers guided tours that last about two hours.

1. Charles de Gaulle Airport

Area: 3260 ha

Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris, France has four runways that about 1,350 aircraft move on per day. This airport is the largest hub and was named after the French statesman and general Charles de Gaulle.

That concludes our list of the largest airports in Europe by area. If you’re looking to travel in and around Europe, you’ll probably encounter one of these places, so you should be sure to grab a map of the layout so you don’t get lost!