Study identifies airports with the longest, shortest walks

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Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

Nothing is worse than walking long distances in an airport trying to make a flight connection.

Now, as the peak travel season approaches, KURU Footwear has analyzed the longest and shortest walks at domestic airports. It measured the distance from an airport’s entrances to its farthest gates.

Texas’ Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport tops the list with a walking distance of 1.5 miles. Spanning roughly 26.9 square miles, DFW has five terminals with 171 gates.

Colorado’s Denver International Airport comes in second with a walking distance of 1.14 miles. Covering a massive 52.4 square miles, DEN has one main terminal with three concourses, totaling 143 gates.

Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia has a walking distance of 0.97 miles. With a land size of roughly 20.3 square miles, IAD features one main terminal with two concourses and 123 gates.

Pennsylvania’s Pittsburgh International Airport offers a walking distance of 0.86 miles. Spanning 15.6 square miles, the airport has a single terminal with four concourses and 75 gates.

Florida’s Orlando International Airport rounds out the top five with a walking distance of 0.70 miles. MCO has 18.1 square miles and has two main terminals with a total of 129 gates.

However, not all airports feature long walks.

On the other end of the spectrum, Trenton-Mercer Airport in New Jersey’s capital city boasts the shortest walking distance at just 0.03 miles. With a land size of roughly 2.1 square miles, the airport has one terminal with four gates.

Paine Field in Everett, Washington, north of Seattle, offers a walking distance of 0.04 miles. Spanning about 2.05 square miles, Paine Field has one terminal with two gates.

Connecticut’s Tweed New Haven Airport has a walking distance of 0.05 miles. Covering just 0.62 square miles, HVN features one terminal with two gates.

Lihue Airport on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi provides a walking distance of 0.06 miles. Spanning roughly 1.43 square miles, LIH has one terminal with 10 gates.

Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania rounds out the list with a walking distance of 0.12 miles. Covering about 1.06 square miles, MDT has one terminal with 12 gates.

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