While most travelers have travel disruptions and long security lines in mind when planning their arrival at the airport, many may not consider the distance from check-in to the gate. I don't know.
Some airport terminals are more than a mile long and can take more than 20 minutes to walk. This means that some late arrivals may be jogging in a hurry.
According to a February 2024 study conducted by KURU Footwear, 40% of Americans surveyed say they are “frustrated” by the long walk to their airport departure gate.
With busy summer travel just around the corner, KURU Footwear sought to measure the top 10 largest and smallest U.S. airports by land area (excluding private jet-focused airports). Researchers analyzed airport maps and Google Maps to determine the walking distance to the closest and farthest gate within each terminal.
Not surprisingly, the busiest airports known as major connectivity hubs, such as Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Denver International Airport, had the longest walking distances for travelers. Thankfully, most of these major airports offer concourse trains and moving walkways to ease travel between terminals.
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Some travelers avoid the hassles of large airports altogether, with 41% of survey participants saying they specifically booked a trip to a smaller airport “for convenience.”
“Interestingly, 36% of Americans prefer flying from a large airport and 19% prefer a small airport,” KURU Footwear spokesperson Victoria Schmidt told USA TODAY in a statement. “45% say they don't care about airport size at all when booking a trip, but choose an airport based on its convenience to them (i.e., distance from home or destination). Many airports are expanding, but they are also shrinking.''As travel continues to boom in the post-pandemic world, construction will become larger and able to accommodate more people. ”
Read below to see which airports have the longest and shortest walking distance.
Airport with the longest walking distance
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas – 3.46 miles Washington-Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia – 2.69 miles George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas – 2.55 miles Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado – 2.35 miles in New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York – 2.2 miles
Airport with the shortest walking distance
Blue Grass Airport (Lexington, Kentucky) – 0.2 miles Westchester County Airport (White Plains, New York) – 0.2 miles Harrisburg International Airport (Middleton, Pennsylvania) – 0.2 miles Lihue Airport (Kauai, Hawaii) – 0.29 miles Hollywood Burbank Airport (Burbank, CA) – 0.32 miles
Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. Please contact kwong@usatoday.com.
