12 Largest Airports in Europe

Each year, more than a billion passengers travel by air within the European Union. With increasingly affordable tickets, air traffic has increased sharply, particularly in the European area, further highlighting the importance of EU airports. So, do you want to know which are the largest airports in Europe? Then, we have listed 12 largest Airports in Europe through which the most travelers pass each year!

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Zürich Airport, Switzerland

Zürich Airport is located in Switzerland. Last year, 29,396,094 passengers traveled through this airport. Zurich Airport is also known as Kloten Airport. Kloten is the name of the town closest to the airport, located in the canton of Zurich. Zurich Airport is regularly used not only by Swiss residents, but also in high demand by the population of neighboring Austrian and German regions.

Dublin Airport, Ireland

Dublin Airport is located in Ireland. With a total of 29,582,321 over the last year, it rises to the penultimate position in ranking. It is called, in Irish “Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath”. Located near the town of Swords, 11 kilometers north of Dublin, it has 2 terminals. It is mainly used for international flights. Domestic flights then make up a very small percentage of Dublin Airport flights.

Paris-Orly Airport, France

Orly Airport, with a total of 32,042,475 passengers, is located 10 km south of Paris. It is an international airport and it takes its name from the commune of Orly of which it occupies part of the territory. The airport, its terminals and its runways are split between the departments of Essonne and Val-de-Marne. It is placed under the authority of the Prefect of Police of Paris3.

Rome Airport, Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci, Italy

Next comes the only Italian airport in the ranking, with a total of 40,971,881 passengers: Rome Airport. It is actually called Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci and is made up of 5 terminals.

Good to know: a renovation project for this airport is underway. This project is expected to cost €12 billion and will probably be completed in 2037. It is a major expansion project.

Munich Airport, Germany

In Munich Airport, 44,577,241 passengers passed through it last year. It was only built in 1992, because the old Munich airport had become too small.

Good to know: the other name of the airport is “Franz-Josef Strauß”, former Prime Minister of Germany – but this name is hardly ever used. 

London-Gatwick Airport, England

With a total of 45,561,700 passengers, this airport takes place in the list. And this even though it shares its passengers with a second airport located in London, which will come later in this ranking. Moreover, this airport now covers almost 7 km2. It is thus the size of an average city. However, it has only one take-off runway!

Barcelona-El Prat Airport, Spain

Barcelona Airport is located in Spain. In reality, this airport is called “El prat”, which means “the meadow”. In addition, it allowed to transport, during the last year, a total of 47,284,500 passengers. It is located 13 km from downtown Barcelona and has 2 terminals. Its two terminals are very far apart, but a free shuttle takes you quickly from one terminal to the other.

Madrid-Barajas Airport, Spain

Madrid-Bajaras Airport is the second Spanish airport in the ranking, through which 53,402,506 passengers passed through last year. This airport is located 13 km northeast of the center of Madrid and has 4 terminals. It bears the name of “Barajas”, one of the twenty-one districts of Madrid.

Frankfurt Airport, Germany

It is the second German airport in the ranking, which actually carries 1.5 times more passengers than its German counterpart. A total of 64,505,151 passed through this airport last year. Moreover, it is the airport serving the most international destinations in Europe. Located 13 kilometers southwest of the city center of Frankfurt am Main, you will only need 11 minutes to get there by train.

Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, Netherlands

Amsterdam-Schipol Airport is in the Netherlands. 68,515,425 passengers traveled there for their journeys last year. It is located 17.5 km southwest of the center of Amsterdam, in the east of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. This airport then offers 6 take-off runways. 

Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, France

The largest airport in France saw 69,471,442 passengers pass through last year. Located about 45 minutes from downtown Paris, it is made up of 4 runways and several terminals. It occupies an area of 32.37 km2, spread over three departments: Val-d’Oise, Seine-Saint-Denis and Seine-et-Marne.

London-Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom

The big winner in the ranking of the largest European airports is London-Heathrow airport. A second London airport is also part of the ranking and yet, 77,987,524 passengers went there during the last year. Heathrow Airport is located in the western suburbs of London. It is also, according to the number of passengers, the fourth largest airport in the world!