page_title: Air transportation in the United States
section_title: Airports
hierarchical_section_title: Air transportation in the United States / Airports
caption_attribution_description: English: JFK Terminal 4, New York – one of JFK's better terminals. If you're flying through the wrong terminal at JFK you will have one of the worst major city airport experiences in the world.
context_page_description: The United States has an extensive air transportation network. In 2013, there were 86 airports in the U.S. that annually handled over 1,000,000 passengers each and twelve of the world's thirty busiest airports by passenger volume in 2014 were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In 2012, 88% of all traffic was through the 62 busiest airports in the country. In terms of cargo, in 2015, eight of the world's thirty busiest airports were in the U.S., including the world's second busiest, Memphis International Airport, behind only Hong Kong International Airport in China. Private aircraft are also used for medical emergencies, government agencies, large businesses, and individuals, see general aviation.
  Due to the geography of the United States and the generally large distances between major cities, air transportation is the preferred method of travel for trips over 300 miles, such as for business travelers and long distance vacation travelers. For cities closer together in the Northeastern part of the country, the Northeast Corridor rail line carries the majority of intercity traffic.
caption: Terminal 4 of John F. Kennedy International Airport, the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States
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