# Airport with most number of terminals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 6, 2004, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475 "2004-04-06T01:43:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/1 "2004-04-06T01:43:12Z")
Tomorrow, a new terminal opens at [Toronto](http://www.gtaa.com/) airport, replacing Terminal One, which is 40 years old, way overcrowded, and has been described as “the Third World with carpets”. Toronto airport will still have three main terminals accessible to the public. (There are several smaller ‘airside’ satellite terminals, but passsengers are bused to these after checking in and clearing security in one of the main terminals.) Heathrow has four terminals. Vancouver has two (I think). I’m not sure about New York. How many airports have four terminals? Are there any airports in the world with more than four terminals directly accessible to the public? ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/2 "2004-04-06T02:23:27Z")
Prior to May 5, 2002 it would appear that Logan Airport in Boston had 5 terminals directly accesible to the public: [http://www.massport.com/logan/insid.html](http://www.massport.com/logan/insid.html) Terminal A is closed for renovation. I’ve been to Logan many times and the terminals are rather small and ratty by most people’s standards. It would probably make for an overall more satisfying travelling experience if they had fewer bigger, newer ones. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/3 "2004-04-06T02:24:46Z")
JFK has nine, one of which (Terminal 4) is divided into East and West sections which are treated as separate terminals. So, if you count them separately, ten. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/4 "2004-04-06T02:27:35Z")
Wow! I wonder whether that’s a record? ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/5 "2004-04-06T02:28:23Z")
\*\*UDS \*\*beat me. I just looked up the info for JFK. Actually, their terminal 5 is closed as well which leaves them with 8 housed in 7 buildings. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/6 "2004-04-06T02:35:25Z")
Wouldn’t comparing the number of _gates_ be a better indicator of humongous vastness? I’ve seen tiny terminals with only 7 gates at them, and enormous ones with over 60. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/7 "2004-04-06T03:08:27Z")
Los Angeles International has 9 terminals. Terminal 4 is pretty small. Terminals 7 and 8 are pretty big. The International Terminal doesn’t have a number. It’s the Tom Bradley Terminal. Wednesday I go to Terminal 1. In May I get to use the International Terminal, which adds a lot of panache to any trip. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/8 "2004-04-06T03:21:28Z")
At JFK many of the larger airlines have their own terminal buildings (with very different designs), while in newer airports, the terminal buildings are shared by multiple airlines and usually the airport authority builds the terminals and leases the space to various airlines. I think that’s the reason that JFK has so many terminals. It’s a messy arrangement, though. ---
**Author:** ![jweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@jweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jweb)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/9 "2004-04-06T03:41:37Z")
Minneapolis-St. Paul only has 2 terminals. But the main one, the Lindbergh terminal, is divided up into 7 concourses, which have anywhere from 5 - 40+ gates in them. Concourse C, IIRC, is almost a mile long and has 45 gates. The smaller terminal, the Humphery terminal, has 10 or so gates, and is used mostly by charter airlines. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/10 "2004-04-06T04:06:51Z")
The world’s busiest airport, by passenger movements, is Atlanta. There are only two terminals, North and South. The world’s busiest airport by aircraft movements is Chicago O’Hare; there appear to be four terminals called, rather confusingly, One, Two, Three and Five. Presumably there was once a Four, but it is no longer used. The world’s largest airport by sheer size is at Riyadh. It covers 81 square miles, more than half as much again as it’s nearest rival (Denver). There are four terminals, but only three are used. Conclusion: number of terminals does not correlate closely with size or volume of business. Probably it has more to do with the historical development of the airport and the financing models used for development. JFK has so many terminals because each of the the (then) major airlines built, paid for and operated its own terminal. The terminals are now called One, Two, Three, etc, but they _used_ to be known as the Eastern Airlines Terminal, the Pan Am Terminal, the TWA Terminal, and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/11 "2004-04-06T04:25:51Z")
Actually, for comparing airport size, the number of gates _would_ be better. But I was interested in the number of separate _buildings_. If a terminal has two zones that are not accessible as one from the public areas groundside, I guess it would count as two terminals. About Toronto airport: [quote] [ul][li]The three [existing] terminals have a combined total of 82 aircraft gates equipped with boarding bridges.[/li][li]Terminal 2 satellite provides an additional 15 commuter aircraft positions, and nine commuter gates with covered walkways, and Terminal 3 satellite provides a further five bridged gates and seven commuter aircraft positions.[/ul][/li][/quote] This does not seem to count the new ‘infield’ terminal that was built as part of the airport redevelopment project. It has 11 gates. We would have to add these. To this total we would have to subtract the gates that are removed as old Terminal One closes (23), and add the gates that are added as the first phase of new Terminal One opens (32, judging from the [map](http://www.gtaa.com/Documents/travellers_visitors/terminal_guide-TNEW.pdf) (PDF)), making a revised total of 128. But I am very uncertain of that total. When the old terminal is demolished, the side of the new terminal facing it will become available for gates. These gates will replace those in part of Terminal Two; that part of Terminal Two will be demolished to make way for a vast new pier with even more gates… which will replace more of those in Terminal Two. Eventually Terminal Two will be demolished entirely, its functions absorbed into Terminal One, and there will a vast open space for further expansion of Terminal One. But that’s at least ten years down the road. Toronto will end up with Terminal One and Terminal Three. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/12 "2004-04-06T06:58:05Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > The world’s busiest airport, by passenger movements, is Atlanta. There are only two terminals, North and South. Yes, but in Atlanta the terminals are where baggage claim and ticketing are. IIRC, South terminal is Delta and North terminal is “everyone else”. Now, Atlanta does have 6 _concourses_: A, B, C, D, E and T. Is this what you’re asking? Or am I just confused? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/13 "2004-04-06T11:13:30Z")
Minor hijack - I wonder what’s the biggest airport with only one terminal? My guess would be Amsterdam Schiphol ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/14 "2004-04-06T13:12:44Z")
I would think Heathrow (London) [http://www.baa.co.uk/main/airports/heathrow/terminal\_information/terminal\_4\_frame.html](http://www.baa.co.uk/main/airports/heathrow/terminal_information/terminal_4_frame.html) and Frankfort, Germany are relatively large airports. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/15 "2004-04-06T13:15:00Z")
More links to big airports: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World’s\_busiest\_airport](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_busiest_airport) ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/16 "2004-04-06T14:22:16Z")
The new airport in Hong Kong is (perhaps) the worlds largest enclosed space. It is over a mile long, but it doesn’t seem to have that many gates. But it does have one huge honking cargo facility. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-with-most-number-of-terminals/238475/17 "2004-04-06T15:18:10Z")
Terminal A at Logan isn’t being renovated; it was torn down and is being replaced. That makes 4 at the moment, but even so they’re all adjacent around the loop road, and all connected by walkways. I think of the 2 sides of B as separate terminals, and D as a wing of C, but that still makes the total the same. Heathrow is inching closer to building #5 but hasn’t started yet. Dallas/Forth Worth has 5, I think. Newark has 4 if you count the North Terminal.