The airport is located 7 miles (11 km) from the city's downtown area and has 22 airlines that offer nearly 500 daily departures to more than 130 destinations worldwide.

The airport has service to cities in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

The Commonwealth's Aviation Bureau reported in its Pennsylvania Air Service Monitor that the total economic impact made by the state's airports in 2004 was $22 billion.

[7] In October 2022, the airport gained a direct connection to a Colonial Pipeline fuel supply.

[8] Starting in 1925, the Pennsylvania National Guard used the present airport site (known as Hog Island) as a training airfield.

Once Philadelphia's terminal was completed (on the east side of the field) American, Eastern, TWA, and United moved their operations here.

[10][11][12] Beginning in 1940, Rising Sun School of Aeronautics of Coatesville performed primary flight training at the airport under contract to the Air Corps.

As of April 1957, the airport was providing 30 weekday departures on Eastern, 24 on TWA, 24 on United, 18 on American, 16 on National, 14 on Capital, six on Allegheny, and three on Delta.

Altair began in 1967 with flights to cities such as Rochester, New York, Hartford, Connecticut and to Florida until it ceased operations in November 1982.

US Airways became the dominant carrier at the airport in the 1980s and 1990s and shifted most of its hub operations from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia in 2003.

In recent years, American has opted to continue expanding at PHL while downsizing its hub at JFK in New York due to greater slot availability, lower operation costs in Philadelphia, and its greater network of connecting flights.

In July 1999 the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and several U.S. federal government agencies selected a route for the connecting ramps from Interstate 95 to the Terminal A-West complex, then under development; the agency tried to avoid the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum.

[17] In 2000, the airport attempted to acquire the complex for $90 million but Tinicum Township commissioners stopped the deal from going forward, citing concerns of a loss of tax revenue for the township and the Interboro School District, which serves Tinicum, as well as noise pollution concerns.

The new ramps eliminated the traffic signal and stop intersections previously encountered by northbound I-95 motorists who had to use Route 291 to the airport.

The project consisted of six new bridges, more than 4,300 linear feet of retaining walls, and 7.7 lane miles of new pavement.

The project also included new highway lighting, overhead sign structures, landscaping and the paving of Bartram Avenue.

Also under the project, PennDOT resurfaced I-95 between Route 420 and Island Avenue and built a truck enforcement and park-and-ride facility.

Construction of the terminal was funded by airport revenue bonds sold by the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development.

The status of Philadelphia as an international gateway and major hub for American Airlines and the growth of Southwest Airlines and other low-cost carriers have increased passenger traffic to record levels in the mid-2000s; in 2004 28,507,420 passengers flew through Philadelphia, up 15.5% over 2003.

[32] In 2024, the airport received $20.4 million in federal funds allocated from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to perform HVAC and electrical system repairs at several terminals, baggage claims and ticket areas, and pedestrian bridges.

The 800,000 sqft Terminal A West has a modern and innovative design, made by Kohn Pedersen Fox, Pierce Goodwin Alexander & Linville and Kelly/Maiello.

After clearing the customs, there is the Arrivals Hall dominated by an atrium, and 250-ft. long display of the Declaration of Independence, conveying Philadelphia's identity as America's birthplace.

The two terminals were connected in late 2008 with a new concourse while providing joint security, a variety of shops and restaurants and a link to Baggage Claims D and E. This is the inverse of the connector between Terminals B and C, which comprises a combined ticket hall but separate security facilities.

[43] A new Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club will be coming to the Terminal D/E connector concourse with a 20,000-square foot facility, with construction currently in progress and awaiting an opening date.

The Airport Line runs through Center City Philadelphia to Glenside, Pennsylvania; half of the trains continue to Warminster, Pennsylvania, on the Warminster Line while the other half of weekday trains diverge past Wayne Junction to continue to Fox Chase, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the Fox Chase Line and the other half of weekend/holiday trains terminate at Glenside.

The Airport Line runs 5:00 a.m. to midnight daily, with trains every 30 minutes on weekdays and every hour on weekends and holidays.

[49] Rental cars are available through a number of companies; each operates a shuttle bus between its facility and the terminals.

The service is operated by the Landline Company, and is booked through the regular American Airlines reservation system.

Power Satisfaction Study ranked Philadelphia International last out of a list of 28 "large" airports in the United States.