10 Worst Airports for Holiday Travel

Bankrate.Com ^ | 8 December 2014 | Chris Kahn

[Vigilanteman]

'Tis the season to see the family, which means you're probably about to spend some quality time -- maybe too much time -- in an airport.

The following are the worst airports for holiday flight problems on arrivals, according to a Bankrate analysis.

Bankrate determined the frequency of holiday flight problems -- delays, cancellations and diversions -- at the United States' 100 most active airports, using Bureau of Transportation Statistics data for the months of November to January over the past 10 years. The rankings for busiest airports are based on total arrivals over the same time period.

[9422WMR]

They left MIA off the list. Top of my list for “worst “ airports. The TSA staff let you know who is in charge. And they wear that authority with arrogance!

[Vigilanteman]

Did TSA put you though the regular routine? Or was it somewhat abbreviated? How long was the line? How much time was it to get through?

Best airport in the world is Singapore. Their security consists of a metal detector like arch to get into the numerous hubs where planes park and embark/disembark. Plus they have random security people walking around with wands and are not bashful about profiling the usual suspects.

If someone started squawking about their civil rights not to be profiled, they would probably just get additional security measures as an object lesson.

[Fair Paul]

I’m surprised Rochester, NY is on this list. The volume of passenger traffic is just not that large and it’s in an area where people know how to deal with snow. It used to be my home airport, I never had any problems with ROC, holidays or otherwise.

[Afterguard]

My guess is they meant Charlotte. Nice airport but I think it’s a US Air hub and all that goes with that.

[Kirkwood]

Other than a very high concentration of liberals, I’m not sure why Madison would be ranked #5.

[Zathras]

I was surprised how small San Diego airport is.
Probably the worst in CA, much worse than SF.

Nothing to do before or after security, little or no parking.
Reminds me of San Jose Airport before they expanded.

[Kirkwood]

You would think Orlando would be on the list.

[conservcalgal]

SFO is the worst. SAN is my hometown airport and can’t think of a time it took me more than a few minutes to get in/out. Most use the large number of parking structures to park and shuttle to airport in about 5-10 minutes :)

[Andy'smom]

I’ve been to Greenville-Spartanburg and Charleston. Both good airports.

[fatnotlazy]

We had to go into the terminal to present ID and obtain a special pass plus a parking voucher (with the voucher you could park for free). Then you had to go through alternate security located outside the ticketing level of the airport. Showed ID to the TSA agent and the pass, then went through the usual — body scan, belongings through the scanner.

We timed it perfectly. Apparently, the place was packed and the lines were long in the morning. We were there around 3:30 pm and zipped right through.

I didn't know about this event till Saturday morning, but if I had, I could have pre-registered online. Apparently, that way you could print your pass and just proceed to security without that first step of stopping to get your pass. Unfortunately, by the time my friend and I decided to go, the pre-registration was closed.

[oh8eleven]

Southwest has the rudest staff I’ve ever encountered.
"Cattle-car" airlines? Who knew? LOL ...
Have never, will never fly them if for no other reason than watching their stupid TV show which exposes the "quality" of their passengers as much as it does the staff.

[oh8eleven]

I never had any problems with ROC, holidays or otherwise.
Agree. Have lived in Rochester 50 years, been flying since 1967 and have never had a problem.

[surrey]

What? No Logan in Boston? You’ll spend more time waiting for your luggage than you did in the air.

[trisham]

We flew from Rhode Island to Tampa. I didn’t see a single smile from any of the staff.

[Exit148]

I thought you were going to say “Thats where it comes out!”

[oh8eleven]

I didn’t see a single smile from any of the staff.
As I noted in another post, I've been flying since 1967, when passengers were treated like gold. It was actually a joy to fly.

[trisham]

You’re right, at one time flying was pleasant, even fun. Not now.

[Fester Chugabrew]

Makes me want to go to an airport just to loiter.

[NOVACPA]

That’s what I was wondering too...

Must be on a % of complaints - 2 PAX out of 10 complain then thats a 20% ratio!

LOL

[daltec]

I have heard that airline travel was much more of an “event” back then. People even dressed for it. My dad used to fly a lot, and I remember hearing from him of what travel was like in the late 60s and into the 70s.

Plus I have seen pictures, and yeah you are right — certainly no fun now, and not particularly pleasant either. Not like how it seemed back then! For me it really went off the cliff with the whole having to take your shoes off, unbuckle your belt, empty your pockets, take out your laptop, put it in a separate bin, scramble to collect everything after the security check — ugh.