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Which airports in the US have four or more parallel runways?

How many are planning additions in the next 5 years?

A few years back, 10 years, Charlotte opened their 3rd parallel runway and it was said to be only one in seven in the country. Just wondered if there is an updated number for 4+ runways. I have searched and some sites have great information but I am not sure it is up to date. Not trying to offput just looking for information that might not be posted to the public.

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  • $\begingroup$ Hi and welcome to Aviation! Please take the tour and read through the help center, especially on what makes a good question. Knowing this info will help us help you better. $\endgroup$
    – FreeMan
    Aug 23, 2019 at 19:39
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    $\begingroup$ @WilNeumann: I think it will help if you narrow down your definition of "parallel runway". If you look at Bianfable's answer, for example, it includes KDFW (Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport) with runways 13L/31R and 17L/35R which in my opinion are not really "parallel" and runways 13L/31R and 13R/31L which while meeting the mathematical definition of "parallel", are actually on opposite ends of the airport and so don't meet the colloquial interpretation of "parallel" which implies proximity. $\endgroup$
    – Jörg W Mittag
    Aug 24, 2019 at 7:27
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    $\begingroup$ @JörgWMittag Runways 13L/31R and 17L/35R at KDFW are not parallel and have never been counted as parallel runways. I simply listed all runways the airport has (now updated for more clarity). $\endgroup$
    – Bianfable
    Aug 24, 2019 at 8:35
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    $\begingroup$ That would seem surprising for CLT to be only one of 7 with 3 or more parallels. Even BNA has 3 parallels and has for as long as I can remember (certainly much farther back than 10 years.) ATL and ORD have 5. $\endgroup$
    – reirab
    Aug 24, 2019 at 21:00
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    $\begingroup$ @JörgWMittag At least in the U.S., 'parallel runways' doesn't not imply proximity, other than that they are at the same airport. It just means the number of runways at that airport that are parallel to each other and, thus, can be used for simultaneous flight operations. For example, ATL has 5 parallel runways, so it can do 3 arrivals and 2 departures (or 2 arrivals and 3 departures) at the same time without interference. The runways are spread out enough laterally that they don't interfere with each other's operations. Within a pair, one is used for takeoff and the other for landing. $\endgroup$
    – reirab
    Aug 24, 2019 at 21:06

1 Answer 1

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Based on my current navigation database (AIRAC 1909, valid from 2019-08-15), I found 7 US airports with 4 (or more) parallel runways:

I do not know how many are planning additions, but I linked the Wikipedia article for each of the airports, maybe that will help you find more information on that.

Trivia: There are only 3 airports outside the US with 4 parallel runways: LFPG (Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport), LFTM (Istanbul Airport) and ZSPD (Shanghai Pudong International Airport).

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    $\begingroup$ The Wikipedia article for O'Hore says they are currently working on adding a sixth parallel runway, bringing the total to 6+2... $\endgroup$
    – jcaron
    Aug 24, 2019 at 11:48
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    $\begingroup$ Fairbanks International Airport (PAFA) lists 4 parallel runways. 2L/20R, 2R/20L, 2W/20W, and 2/20. The catch is 2W/20W is a water runway for float planes and 2/20 is a dirt/gravel runway used for ski planes. $\endgroup$
    – Gerry
    Aug 24, 2019 at 17:56
  • $\begingroup$ @Gerry nice catch! My database does not include the water runway, that's why it did not show up. $\endgroup$
    – Bianfable
    Aug 24, 2019 at 18:02
  • $\begingroup$ ATL is indeed the world's biggest (busiest? something) airport, so it makes sense it's in the list, I guess. $\endgroup$
    – Fattie
    Aug 24, 2019 at 21:12
  • $\begingroup$ @Fattie It is indeed, by passenger numbers. ATL had 107 milliion passengers in 2018. Interestingly, Europe's busiest airport (London Heathrow) with 80 million passengers only has 2 runways! $\endgroup$
    – Bianfable
    Aug 24, 2019 at 21:23

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