Just in time for the holiday travel season, here’s my list of America’s best and worst major airports.
Note that consideration was given only to large airports, which means either destinations which handle lots of traffic or hubs which handle millions of transfers.
Smaller regional airports such as Burbank, West Palm Beach, Providence, Long Beach, Dallas Love Field, and others were not graded. These airports tend only to be end-point destinations for most flights.
The key factors used in my rankings were — general airport condition (age/renovations), convenience to city, cost-availability of transportation to city center, chances of delays (weather based), ease of plane-to-plane transfers, comfort and amenities (restaurants, WiFi, etc.), cleanliness, and my own highly-subjective travel experiences.
Also, in order to make either list, I had to have personally visited or flown through the airport.
Here are the best and worst American airports:
BEST AIRPORTS (ranked best to very good in descending order):
1. Washington National — Easily the best thing about flying into Washington National (a.k.a. “Reagan National”) is its central location. It’s less than a mile from the national capital and mall area, which is right across the Potomac River. Just steps away from the main terminal, the Metro (subway) makes it less than a $5 ride from just about anywhere in the D.C./Northern Virginia/Suburban Maryland area. Short walks and distances within the gate areas also grade highly. Ironically, this used to be one of the very worst airports in the country. But with the massive renovation that’s taken place over the past decade, this travel hub has become a genuine advantage for those who travel in and out of Washington.
2. Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood — Not many people will agree with this choice, but this is one of the best airports in America in my opinion, especially considering its high volume of traffic. Conveniently located just a few miles from away central Ft. Lauderdale and easily accessible to anyone based in or visiting the long stretch of the Gold Coast from Miami in the south to West Palm Beach in the north, this airport is well-maintained and highly organized. Consider the added challenges of funneling around lots of seniors a massive cruise ship market, and all the major discount airlines, this airport deserves high praise and a top ranking. I’ve flown in here about a dozen times and remain impressed by how efficient it is with so many moving parts. Okay, except for Spirit Airlines.
3. Minneapolis/St. Paul — Winter weather delays aside, this is a fabulously-designed, easy-to-navigate air terminal with some notable advantages over other airports. The free WiFi is excellent. There are even built-in computer terminals at some gates and restaurants. Good shops, eating and drinking establishments, and cleanliness make this easily a top ten airport. This is one of the few airports where I won’t mind a few hours delay. There’s plenty to do to keep you occupied unless you are unlucky enough to fly through and get delayed with 45-minutes of de-icing.
4. Phoenix — Clean and new, easily convenient to the city and surrounding area, accessible throughout, and full of amenities, Phoenix is never a headache to visit nor travel through. I’ve passed through this airport at least 25 times and can’t remember a single flight delay or ever waiting on the tarmac. Not even once.
5. Detroit — That’s right, Detroit. I was shocked too, to discover one of the newest and most modern airports in America in a city that has become the symbol of urban decay. I’ve traveled through here just four times. Perhaps it was that I didn’t expect such modernity. The disco tunnel with the strobe lights and music connecting tunnels is not to be missed. Very European.
6. Raleigh-Durham — Not nearly as well known as some of the bigger airports, this gem has everything any traveler would want in either a destination or a layover. Clean, full of good restaurants, and remarkably attractive, the major renovation of both terminals done of the past ten years has made for a port that’s cheerful and efficient. Two trips here in the past. Both pleasant.
7. Las Vegas — Huge volume of traffic makes for what could be a major bottleneck. Given this potential chaos of Las Vegas travel, this airport mostly gets things right. Clean, efficient, manageable lines (most of the time), and slot machines in the terminal (that don’t pay) — this hub has far more pros than cons. Convenience to The Strip is a major advantage, although the monopolistic taxi cab situation is a big downer. Terminal 3, which opened up a few years ago needs a better connection to the Main Terminal. Once that’s fixed, this airport’s ranking will improve. I’ve made more than 200 flights in and out of Las Vegas. The planes are almost always packed. But few delays.
8. Pittsburgh — One doesn’t normally think of Pittsburgh as having a great airport, but that’s certainly the case. Everything here is centrally located, including the rental car facility which is in the terminal. Drop off is hassle-free. Minimal walking required. Although about 20 miles outside the city and lacking a transit connection, it still takes less than 30 minutes to get there from Downtown Pittsburgh.
9. BWI (Baltimore-Washington) — Gets unfairly judged in my opinion because it’s not as convenient as Washington National. But this airport has plenty going for it, including a modern terminal, relatively few problems, access to mass transit rail which serves two major cities, plus lots of low-cost fare with discount carriers. I’ve flown in and out of BWI at least 20 times. I can’t think of a single bad experience.
10. San Diego — Outdated and graded by many pilots as one of the most dangerous airports in America, I’m actually fond of San Diego. First, it’s centrally-located near the downtown area, which makes for some breathtaking scenery. Parking is easy, located right next to the terminal. Weather delays are non-existent. Gets low grades on restaurants and amenities, but there are enough positives for San Diego to make the top-ten list. Flown here about ten times, usually cheap from Las Vegas. Despite just a single runway and what could be a bottleneck of flights, I’ve never encountered a flight delay.
WORST AIRPORTS (ranked from very worst to less bad in ascending order):
1. LaGuardia (New York) — What an embarrassment! How can New York City be served by what amounts to a Third-World airport? Want to know what flying was like way back in 1965? Head to LaGuardia (wait — flying was actually a pleasure back then, wasn’t it?). Old, dirty, crowded, lousy food choices, too few seats in the terminal, rude people — all compounded by the strong chance of a flight delay or wait on the tarmac makes this airport easily the worst air travel spot in America. I’ve flown in here about ten times, which is always stressful and problematic. LaGuardia isn’t an airport. It’s a bus terminal. LaGuardia sucks.
2. Oakland — What a hellhole. It’s LaGuardia West. Despite the nice view overlooking the bay, once you’re in the terminal area be prepared for jam-packed aisles, slow baggage carousel service, and then a long haul to the rental car center which seems like a 15 minutes bus ride. Speaking of that bus ride, don’t pack too much luggage because the bag racks are pretty much non-existent. It also seems to always be undergoing construction. If that’s the case, how come we never see any improvements?
3. Midway (Chicago) — This airport is located in a slum, one of the most dangerous urban crime zones of the United States. It’s got the worst on-time percentage in the country (only 67 percent on schedule arrivals and departures). How in the hell can this smaller airport have worse percentages than its much busier cousin, Chicago O’Hare? The only reason to fly here is the concentration of low-cost carriers. Otherwise, it’s an avoid-at-all-costs hub.
4. New Orleans — The airport named in honor of Louis Armstrong does have a certain charm. Much like New Orleans, the airport hasn’t changed much in what seems like two or three generations. Everything is old, which is kinda’ nice if you want to go to a baseball game and enjoy Wrigley Field or Fenway Park. But that’s not what you want when traveling by air. Add the horrible transportation options which are practically non-existent except for 20-year-old cabs with no air conditioning, and this makes flying in and out of New Orleans a royal pain in the ass.
5. Memphis — Convenient location in south Memphis is about the only good thing about this older airport, which has some of the highest fare costs of any destination in the country (major reason — no discount airlines fly here from most big markets). Add the lock that FedEx (which is based here) has on all the precious landing slots, and you can face delays and long waits in the runway, even though you’re seemingly the only flight headed out at 11 pm.
6. Denver — This airport is still relatively new and looks quite impressive with its giant white spires visible from great distances. Perhaps that why Denver was constructed in such a way since it’s out in the middle of nowhere (couldn’t they have built this airport at least a few miles closer to Denver?). TSA lines here have been graded as the worst in the country, according to most surveys. The baggage service used to also get scathing reviews for lost luggage, missed transfers, and delays. Weather delays are also somewhat common.
7. Atlanta — It’s probably not fair to judge an airport like Raleigh (one of the best) with what’s now the world’s busiest airport in terms of the number of flights. Plenty can go wrong here, and things could certainly be much worse. I like the underground connector which does tend to eliminate what could be a much longer walk between gates. But Atlanta fails miserably in at least two areas — long waits for gates to open and frequent gate changes. Once you’ve landed, that doesn’t mean you’ve arrived in Atlanta. It just means you are probably within 40 minutes or so of de-planning. Because the volume of flights is so heavy and there simply aren’t enough gates and runways, this airport gets a low grade.
8. LAX (Los Angeles) — Receives a good grade for location and plenty of surrounding hotels which are surprisingly affordable, but that’s about it. Negatives include — heavy air and vehicle traffic, constant flight delays, bad international arrival area (notoriously long lines), poor restaurant choices, expensive parking, non-existent mass transit connections — all superseded by a Hollywood caste system which allows celebrities their own TSA entrance apart from the masses, makes for LAX being a mandatory pick on any “worst airport” list.
9. Miami — This airport is a mess. It’s always crowded. There’s nothing around it or nearby (once on a flight delay, I paid $55 for a horrid steak at the only hotel within walking distance). The vast number of international flights, particularly to the Caribbean seems to clog up the system and make the terminal seem more like Santa Domingo than a hub for American Airlines. One positive — at least you can brush up on your curse words in Spanish, as that’s what you’re likely to hear up and down the terminal. Plus, it’s always hot and humid — even inside.
10. Kennedy (New York) — Probably the worst-designed airport in the world. Lousy signage. Absurd parking prices. Terrible restaurant choices. $9 for a Heineken. Poor connections between terminals. Crowded gates. Oh, then there’s the $52 cab fare from JFK to Manhattan. The last time I was there which was just two years ago, one of the terminals still had those “pay televisions,” where you stick in a quarter and get five minutes of viewing on a TV that half the time doesn’t work. Kennedy is a joke. This place is a shithole.
THE GOOD AND THE BAD (airports receiving a mixed grade):
Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago O-Hare, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas-Fort Worth, Bush (Houston), Jacksonville, Memphis, Newark, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa/St. Petersburg
PS: Your mileage may vary.