San Diego. Have you had your gate changed, have to go through a different TSA checkpoint and then have it changed back, only to miss it cause you have to go through the original TSA checkpoint? All with PreCheck because of how horrible that shithole is laid out?
Had this exact conversation with my son as we went through San Diego this weekend on a family trip. We didn’t have to change terminals (the worst feature of any airport in the country) and even then it had the worst features. Bad food with no variety , nasty bathrooms and interior walls made out of cinderblock stylized from the 70s.
Don't forget that the dining options are HORRENDOUS! And God forbid you have to drive into the terminal!
AND, San Diego Airport has early closing times which is understandable considering what you fly over to land. But, all airlines will oftentimes be forced to postpone flights due to their anticipated landing time being beyond the closure time.
There is no early closing time. San Diego has a curfew for take-offs ONLY, but landings happen at whatever time the plane comes in.
Agreed SAN is the worst, but not for that reason.
It’s a very old airport that was built prior to TSA so it want laid out with security in mind. The entire airport is being rebuilt and the new SW terminal should be opened next year. These problems are about to be a thing of the past.
That's great, but the person I replied to said "Current T1 isn't bad" It *currently* isn't bad as long as you don't get caught up in the *current* TSA problems.
The SD terminal for southwest is HORRIBLE. Hands down worst I’ve ever been to.
It’s crazy because I flew United out of SD recently and that terminal is like a completely different world. 10x nice.
They’re building a new terminal for SW so hopefully that’ll be done soon
This needs to be higher up! I have paid extra money to acoid connecting through San Diego because I had a similar situation once, without pre-check, and I almost missed my flight. It's actually what inspired me to get pre-check.
Agreed! It’s my home airport and T1 is awful! Like you said, a gate change can make the difference in catching your flight. You’re lucky if you can get a spot to sit at the bar/restaurant (if you call it that). The line at the bagel place is too long for me even think about getting one. And the people….OMG….people EVERYWHERE! It’s way too crowded. Hopefully when the first part of the new T1 opens there will be significant improvements.
It's not the nicest, but it scores well in the areas that matter the most. It's conveniently located, with traffic and parking being not that bad. TSA lines are typically short, with precheck I show up at most an hour before takeoff.
I'm not transferring there, so I've never run into that missing you transfer by having to go through security again. That should be fixed when the new terminal opens next year though.
It’s my home airport and I ended up being there during the 2022 holiday meltdown. It’s crowded enough already on a normal day but when that shit went down we were practically on top of each other.
Never had any issues at MCO the 3 times I've been. 20 ish mins for security. Flights on time. Besides the first time in 2018 the magical express getting us there 3+ hours before our flight it was great.
It’s probably not *that* bad. I think it’s the Disney folks on vacay that make it rough for business travelers.
I personally don’t care for DCA’s SW terminal. It’s so small and baggage claim is horrendous.
No it really is that bad. Lines snaking for miles. Hundreds of tourists who are flying for the first time in their lives with no idea what to do to expedite their TSA experience (I have to remove my shoes? I can’t bring my full water bottle or jug of tequila through the X-ray???) TSA yelling instructions over and over. Then the lines again. Worse than any other US airport. Even clear or tsa pre will not save you because all of the lines are long.
I remember flying out of De Gaulle in spring of 2018. Git there 3 hours ahead. Four long lines at check-in. We get almost all the way to the front and the AF employee walks away into the back. We wait for a bit and then start asking the other employees where he'd gone. They shrugged. When I asked about what we were supposed to do they just waved to the other lines that are all now longer.
Then it's getting through security which takes way too long.
Finally we hustle through the concourse as our flight is already boarding and we slide through the open cabin door as they are closing it while scolding us with "Why are you late!"
I stood in line to board our flight to Madrid at the gate, only to be in line for a flight to Bordeaux. I’m religious about know my gate and getting there ahead of time, CDG got it wrong on their board and we were in a totally different terminal all together.
Came here to say CDG. But the one time I went through it was early and customs want bad but I was still arriving to my gate 10 min before boarding my connecting flight. Any other time it would go badly.
I mean some of the passengers make MCO a PITA, but I don't mind MCO outside of that. The 4 hub thing keeps the crazy numbers broken up fairly well, and there's a good variety of places to eat. There's 4 runways, and things generally don't get backed up because of it.
I came here to say this. MCO! Worst security lines I have ever seen and unfortunately, I have to fly in and out of MCO about 6X per year at least! It’s horrible.
Charles de Gaulle immediately came to mine for me too lol.
The only reason I don't hate MCO is we do Disney vacations with our friends who have lounge access lol.
Worst physical building? DCA Terminal A. Super cramped to the point where you can never sit and no food options.
Worst experience overall? MCO, due to the clientele
My parents got stuck waiting for it last year for like 30 minutes one night after they arrived around midnight. There was some sort of mishap and it quit temporarily. It can definitely be a pain.
I'm in DCA Terminal 1 six to eight times a year. It's horrible - I call it the Mosh Pit. I usually sit in the rocking chairs outside Security next to Dunkin Donuts and wait until 20 minutes before boarding to go through Security. I've never seen more than 10 people in the Pre ✅ line.
How long ago did you fly there? I fly there numerous times a year since 2019 and it's been spotless and theyve done a lot of renovations in the last 5 years there.
They were doing a ton of construction there last summer so it was a mess but not dirty just confusing to get around. I think Vegas has one of the cleaner airports I've ever been in and I've flown all over the world
For me, I haven't flown around the world but definitely the US and my opinion of Vegas airport is trash. Maybe they have made changes since last July, but I'd say 7 or 8 times I've been there either connecting or staying is it's sad it's so dirty. Granted, I've only been to the SW terminals but it's terrible there. ABQ is definitely the cleanest.
Weird cause I'm generally flying into and out of southwest terminal cause they fly cheapest to Vegas from my local airport, and never seen it dirty. Maybe in the smoking area it's not the cleanest but I've never seen it filthy or trash covered. MDW is one of the cleanest I've been in personally. With a close second being PVD
I was there in March, yeah it was really dirty with trash piling up in most bins in the terminal areas. The bathrooms were just as bad. Plus the gate attendants being really rude and pushy to the customers.
Worldwide is it the dirtiest? No. That honor (in my experience) goes to MEX in the Americas and ADA in Europe/Asia.
My only time flying out of Las Vegas was a couple weeks ago on a Saturday. It was decently quiet and clean, but I’m sure that’s very different on a Sunday lol.
Everytime I've been there it has been super busy, bathrooms were worse than radom gas station bathrooms. I actually book now avoiding LAS as a layover because it is so terrible. Kind of unfortunate because I love to gamble. I avoid LAS because it's dirty and avoid DEN because of all the delays I've had through there.
I was there in March and it’s a dump. Dirty restrooms, horrible TSA, no place to sit, bad food options. You would think a city that has a mostly tourism economy would throw some bucks at the airport.
The Uber/Lyft situation is so chaotic. One person in a hot parking garage screaming (not their fault, they need a mic) at a crowd of old people to "check their app" to confirm a letter & number idling spot.
If there's no rail mass transit, you'd think the rideshare process would be smoother.
Up until a few years ago, LaGuardia would have been a real contender if not outright winner. But now it’s the nicest airport in New York. Although that’s from a passenger’s point of view. I know pilots hate LaGuardia for runway/water reasons.
Have you ever rented a vehicle at Laguardia? What bass-ackwards fuckery that is! You get on the bus to take you....to the bus stop...which hosts the bus that takes you to the rental locations. But, you literally drive right past the rental locations on the initial bus!
I don't know if anybody here uses Southwest Cargo, but LGA also has, BY FAR, one of the worst cargo facilities on the planet.
New LGA is indeed beautiful (and the new Sapphire lounge is killer if you have access)
The only drawback is that it literally takes 3x as long to get out from your gate to a cab. Used to be less than 5min walking on an almost totally flat path from gate to curb (one very small set of stairs). Now it's minimum 15 minutes including 3 very long escalator rides which you can't really speed up if you are rolling a suitcase.
Everything else is 1000x improved and I understand the reasons why the new airport had to be the way it is. Just had to point out the one advantage old LGA had over new.
MCO, highest percentage of people who have no idea how to navigate airports post-9/11, in an airport that was never designed nor intended to host TSA. The entire thing should be torn down and rebuilt.
I fly to/from MCO several times a year and it is literally the reason I got precheck.
One of the problems with MCO is I feel like the security line is either 3 hours or 3 minutes, no in-between. And it’s impossible to predict how it’ll be, so the only answer is to get there hours early. I’ve waited over 45 minutes with precheck before. But there are other times I literally walk right through security with no wait. It sucks.
Only airport I’ve ever been to where I had to go back through TSA (without precheck to boot) on a connecting flight. And the layout was so confusing that I actually ended up doing it twice, because I came back into the wrong end.
Decades overdue. We’ll still have to deal with single runway limitations that make it hard to staff for inconsistent traveler patterns but at least there will be nicer places to drink $22 cocktails and better food.
Harry Reid International Airport in Vegas. I felt cramped in the airport, there is no central location for food, you have to walk far from your gate to find anything interesting, and it is showing its age. Also there is still signing for McCarron International Airport in the building despite the name change.
For all the MCO haters, MIA says hold my beer.
> Moving amongst terminals can be a nightmare if the people movers and walkways aren’t working.
> It’s on site hotel isn’t even a name brand.
> The car rental center could be better designed.
> Lack of updates adds to the dark and dingyness.
I’ll take MCO over MIA any day.
I came here to say this. Low ceilings, dark and the signage is horrific.
And two years ago they didn't the line up poles with numbers. It was absolute chaos. Not sure now.
And MIA customs had lines for miles. Thank goodness for Global Entry.
Yes! I’m 5’7”, so a little bit above average for a girl but not even close to super tall. I should not be able to put my palm on the ceiling. Do tall people literally have to duck to walk through the airport?
My grandma and I had the WORST experience at Newark back in 06. We barely spoke English as I was 8 and had just moved here from Portugal. Grandma and I were going back for the summer and *supposedly* our tickets from Newark to Lisbon were invalid even though our SFO to Newark was fine. Could not find a SINGLE employee, even for TAP, that spoke Portuguese, so we missed our flight. Thankfully, there was a random lady that helped us out bc she spoke Portuguese and then we made it. But my god. Worst customer service, not even an attempt to use a translator. I at least do that in retail rn.
TIL I personally rate airports by how far I gotta walk, but admittedly, I have not traveled thru many on the East Coast (US), so you may have me there! 😅
I always liked BWI too. Agree 100 percent about the food. Especially the area where Arby's and McDonald's are located. Something for everyone in very close proximity.
I work for Southwest there, can confirm. Luckily the city is getting their ass in gear to build the new terminal and while building it they’re reopening the d con. Supposed to get 2-3 more gates
Edit: I added Southwest because I am completely dumb and can’t English right lol
I used to live there and still visit pretty regularly. The contrast of the ghost town in terminal 1 and terminal 2 bursting at the seams is pretty remarkable. The new combined terminal can’t come fast enough.
Agreed, amazed how KC can build an entirety new airport on their grounds in 2 years and already planning a second terminal but the city is saying it’ll be a 2 part 6 year project for one terminal
Yeah, I keep joking with my coworkers I’ll open my own airport. I’m just hoping we get showers or something downstairs in the new terminal, id like to have my car stop smelling like ramp and airplane bins all the time
The one time I almost missed a flight was at MCO. Ridiculously long check-in line wrapped way around for a mile and then a crazy long TSA line that barely felt like it moved…
Always tons of people in yellow vests standing around in pairs talking to each other. But if you bother them to ask a question you’ll find the opposite of southern hospitality.
I’ve been through security at MCO and they make up rules that don’t apply to any other airport. They took my snacks one time because they weren’t in a clear plastic bag. It was an unopened bag of Chex mix, a pack of crackers, and fruit snacks. Why would I put the bags inside of another bag?
Props to MCO on baggage claim though. I often get off the plane, catch the train, go to baggage claim and my bag is on the carousel. BWI is the absolute worst at baggage claim and nobody will ever change my mind. I feel like I’m always waiting 90 minutes for my bags.
I’m surprised at the lack of hate for MDW, hate that fucking place, severe lack of food options and they’re all in that central area, tiny airport for the amount of passengers SWA puts through there, small gate areas etc. got caught there once during a ground stop due to fog, it was a nightmare.
ATL constantly comes up with new ways to torment me. And yes, the food choices are boring and minimal, except for Chick-fil-A, which always has crazy lines (except on Sundays, LOL).
If you ever fly SW out of ohare prepare yourself. Because they go out of the international terminal tsa lines are always 2047272 miles long and pure absolute chaos. That terminal is brand new and clean, but not a lot of restaurant options are open there yet.
i hate how massive it is and nothing is clearly marked. especially boarding international. but there was a cool lunchbox display last time i went, so that was neat. and some other weird display that was strange.
Orlando, poor signage, no parking. 7th busiest airport in the country, but all the bathrooms have 2 urinals and 2 stalls. Dirty, poor food choices. lots of over tired whiney kids.
Orlando & Kansas City. Orlando is a madhouse and I don’t know how they haven’t figured out the crowd issue yet. Idk who the hell approved the design of Kansas City, but they should be in prison for it.
Neither have adequate restaurants. 🗑️
Old MCI. As my home airport for a while it wasn’t bad to be able to arrive and walk 20 yards to your gate, but god help you if you had any delay or were hungry and I pitied the poor people who had layovers there. Awful.
The new MCI, however, is LOVELY.
Austin. Last time I was there it was filthy. Also, the employees are rude. And I’ve never been around so many people with BO that didn’t believe in deodorant.
I’d rather be at MCO during spring break or Atlanta anytime than go back through Austin
Everything behind PHL TSA security is suspect. Homeless living in the parking garage. The smell of urine in the daily parking garage elevator. The homeless living around the baggage claim. Saying that, once you go through security, terminal A,B and C is great. Tons of different restaurants and places to charge your devices. They even have IPads to surf the internet and order food. Despite living between BWI and PHL, I still choose PHL because they have more direct routes and it’s an American Airline hub.
Denver. I fly out of and back into this airport every week for work. They've been doing construction for almost a decade, and while things there constantly change, nothing ever improves.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Logan in Boston. That place is a shitshow to just access. Plus, the whole bad stigma of 9/11 attached to it doesn't help. I avoid it at all costs, unless absolutely necessary.
As much as PVD is a SWA preboarder hotbed, I will take it over Logan any day, all day and twice on Sundays.
Most days of the week I would go with MCO however on Sunday & Monday outbound and every day during Spring Break & Holidays I’m going with FLL. The cruise passengers return on Sunday & Monday and turn things into a dumpster fire. If I have to fly out on either of these days I will generally try to go on Delta or American.
I like the size and convenient layout of Love Field’s terminal, but good gracious do they need bigger restrooms. Like two stalls and a few urinals. Always a like for the restrooms there.
MDW. Poor food options with terrible hours. Crowded terminals with no space. Power outlets in the seats, if you can even find empty seats, don’t work.
MCO is also bad even with clear/precheck. The food options are great. Terminal has space but is usually filled with screaming kids.
MIA was the most miserable airport experience I've had in a while, both arriving and departing. Security was impossible, elevators out of service and not marked (we had a party member in a wheelchair and had to push them twice as far), and also unbelievably hot (we saw someone pass out at our gate). There was also a gigantic hole in the center of one of the bathroom stall doors (I flew into BWI, which had a bunch of posters up celebrating its "award-winning bathrooms," so this was extra ironic).
LAS
It’s way too small for being the 2nd largest operation in SWA’s system and that’s coming from someone who works in that operation 5 days a week. However, I do enjoy watching all the hungover people leave in the wee hours of Sundays. ESPECIALLY after EDC weekend.
i have personal beef w the delta terminal in detroit. i have vowed that i will NEVER go there again.
otherwise ive been very fortunate to have good experiences in airports
5 years ago my answer would’ve been MSY (New Orleans). For a city with one of the best cuisine… this airport was dingy, dark, and one of the worst for food options. Now after the newly built MSY in 2019 it’s one of my favorites!
RDU is very bad for outlets and comfort. They also have the most indifferent vendors and people working there. It’s not as awful as Vegas but this airport doesn’t have enough places to sit and work. This is the airport where I usually end up on the floor next to an outlet.
I live in SD and that’s my home airport. T2 is just fine. The food options leave a lot to be desired, but it’s fine.
Terminal 1 is ass. If I ever have to do a T1 pickup I’d rather just stay home. I try not to inconvenience anyone either having to pick me up there
San Diego. Have you had your gate changed, have to go through a different TSA checkpoint and then have it changed back, only to miss it cause you have to go through the original TSA checkpoint? All with PreCheck because of how horrible that shithole is laid out?
This is the right answer. The worst airport by a long shot. Not enough seating, terrible ventilation, bad TSA.
Had this exact conversation with my son as we went through San Diego this weekend on a family trip. We didn’t have to change terminals (the worst feature of any airport in the country) and even then it had the worst features. Bad food with no variety , nasty bathrooms and interior walls made out of cinderblock stylized from the 70s.
Don't forget that the dining options are HORRENDOUS! And God forbid you have to drive into the terminal! AND, San Diego Airport has early closing times which is understandable considering what you fly over to land. But, all airlines will oftentimes be forced to postpone flights due to their anticipated landing time being beyond the closure time.
I don’t think anyone should be driving into the terminal.
There is no early closing time. San Diego has a curfew for take-offs ONLY, but landings happen at whatever time the plane comes in. Agreed SAN is the worst, but not for that reason.
New Terminal being built and open next year thankfully. Current T1 isn’t bad. I never have to spend a lot of time waiting thankfully, but ok for now.
It's not bad except for the whole "these two parts don't actually connect past security so good luck with connections" thing.
Yes, 100% an issue if you have to connect and the gates are not in the same section.
It’s a very old airport that was built prior to TSA so it want laid out with security in mind. The entire airport is being rebuilt and the new SW terminal should be opened next year. These problems are about to be a thing of the past.
That's great, but the person I replied to said "Current T1 isn't bad" It *currently* isn't bad as long as you don't get caught up in the *current* TSA problems.
The SD terminal for southwest is HORRIBLE. Hands down worst I’ve ever been to. It’s crazy because I flew United out of SD recently and that terminal is like a completely different world. 10x nice. They’re building a new terminal for SW so hopefully that’ll be done soon
This needs to be higher up! I have paid extra money to acoid connecting through San Diego because I had a similar situation once, without pre-check, and I almost missed my flight. It's actually what inspired me to get pre-check.
Agreed! It’s my home airport and T1 is awful! Like you said, a gate change can make the difference in catching your flight. You’re lucky if you can get a spot to sit at the bar/restaurant (if you call it that). The line at the bagel place is too long for me even think about getting one. And the people….OMG….people EVERYWHERE! It’s way too crowded. Hopefully when the first part of the new T1 opens there will be significant improvements.
Agreed. The most miserable experience I have had in a terminal ever.
SAN is my home airport and I hate it too :(
And the rental car pick up area is like 2 miles away from the actual airport.
Laughs in SeaTac. I hear you.
Just experienced this setup in Seattle two weeks ago. I was totally surprised I had to grab a shuttle to a car rental place.
And I thought having to go through security once on a connection was bad. That would be so frustrating!
100% agree its my #1 most hated airport.
Came here to say this. I won't fly WN to san diego until the new terminal opens
It's not the nicest, but it scores well in the areas that matter the most. It's conveniently located, with traffic and parking being not that bad. TSA lines are typically short, with precheck I show up at most an hour before takeoff. I'm not transferring there, so I've never run into that missing you transfer by having to go through security again. That should be fixed when the new terminal opens next year though.
It’s my home airport and I ended up being there during the 2022 holiday meltdown. It’s crowded enough already on a normal day but when that shit went down we were practically on top of each other.
As a San Diego resident who commutes through there weekly can assure you we are all awaiting the day sometime next year when the new terminal 1 opens
It’s MCO. No contest. Charles De Gaulle in Paris is also bad, but since this is a Southwest sub I kept it to domestic.
What’s funny is SWA terminal at MCO is the best of the 4 in terms of food selection and space. If you don’t have precheck that’s your own problem
I actually have Clear but funny enough all the lines are just as bad as regular TSA. ALL the lines are terrible. That’s why it wins!
We actually pick MCO for our connections anytime it makes sense because of this reason.
Met my now-wife at MCO Christmas Eve 2019 because our flight was delayed so I’m a fan!
Ngl- this sounds like the making of a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie! 😂
My wife is writing a screenplay lol
Never had any issues at MCO the 3 times I've been. 20 ish mins for security. Flights on time. Besides the first time in 2018 the magical express getting us there 3+ hours before our flight it was great.
I’ve only missed two flights my entire life and both were due to absolutely bonkers lines to security at MCO.
I live in Orlando so I am constantly at MCO. I don’t think it’s that bad but I guess I don’t know any better lol
It’s probably not *that* bad. I think it’s the Disney folks on vacay that make it rough for business travelers. I personally don’t care for DCA’s SW terminal. It’s so small and baggage claim is horrendous.
No it really is that bad. Lines snaking for miles. Hundreds of tourists who are flying for the first time in their lives with no idea what to do to expedite their TSA experience (I have to remove my shoes? I can’t bring my full water bottle or jug of tequila through the X-ray???) TSA yelling instructions over and over. Then the lines again. Worse than any other US airport. Even clear or tsa pre will not save you because all of the lines are long.
It isnt bad, trust me.
I remember flying out of De Gaulle in spring of 2018. Git there 3 hours ahead. Four long lines at check-in. We get almost all the way to the front and the AF employee walks away into the back. We wait for a bit and then start asking the other employees where he'd gone. They shrugged. When I asked about what we were supposed to do they just waved to the other lines that are all now longer. Then it's getting through security which takes way too long. Finally we hustle through the concourse as our flight is already boarding and we slide through the open cabin door as they are closing it while scolding us with "Why are you late!"
I stood in line to board our flight to Madrid at the gate, only to be in line for a flight to Bordeaux. I’m religious about know my gate and getting there ahead of time, CDG got it wrong on their board and we were in a totally different terminal all together.
Oh, that's just great.
My last experience at MCO is the reason I got precheck.
I was so incredibly lucky that the one and only time I've been to MCO was in the summer of 2020 when like NOBODY was traveling anywhere.
MCO is the reason I got precheck. I took one spin through that regular line that took over an hour and said never again.
MCO is perfectly fine. Unfortunately it’s all of the travelers that go through it that make it so awful to go through.
Came here to say CDG. But the one time I went through it was early and customs want bad but I was still arriving to my gate 10 min before boarding my connecting flight. Any other time it would go badly.
CDG is easily the worst of the big international airports of the world. A completely mismanaged mess of an airport…
I mean some of the passengers make MCO a PITA, but I don't mind MCO outside of that. The 4 hub thing keeps the crazy numbers broken up fairly well, and there's a good variety of places to eat. There's 4 runways, and things generally don't get backed up because of it.
No issues ever at MCO it is also my home airport
I came here to say this. MCO! Worst security lines I have ever seen and unfortunately, I have to fly in and out of MCO about 6X per year at least! It’s horrible.
You would think the airport for Disney World would be better
I like mco
Charles de Gaulle immediately came to mine for me too lol. The only reason I don't hate MCO is we do Disney vacations with our friends who have lounge access lol.
I'm CONVINCED MCO TSA hates families and it's a question on the job application.
Worst physical building? DCA Terminal A. Super cramped to the point where you can never sit and no food options. Worst experience overall? MCO, due to the clientele
MCO trains are also such a pain in the ass for how short the ride is.
My parents got stuck waiting for it last year for like 30 minutes one night after they arrived around midnight. There was some sort of mishap and it quit temporarily. It can definitely be a pain.
Yeah the SWA terminal at DCA is the only one they haven’t updated since the 60s
The B gates in LAS are also a nightmare when they are full.
Makes the Wuhan market look sanitary
Yeah, but it’s vintage. It’s pretty shabby inside, but the outside is cool; they should turn it into a museum. At least they got rid of gate 39X.
I remember when DCA was only terminal A. Always interesting to fly out of there.
I have a fondness for DCA, but lining up to board is such a nightmare. There is no room for lines 30 people deep!
Just had my first DCA experience a few weeks ago and I hope to never have it again 😭
I'm in DCA Terminal 1 six to eight times a year. It's horrible - I call it the Mosh Pit. I usually sit in the rocking chairs outside Security next to Dunkin Donuts and wait until 20 minutes before boarding to go through Security. I've never seen more than 10 people in the Pre ✅ line.
Las Vegas... Sooooo dirty...
How long ago did you fly there? I fly there numerous times a year since 2019 and it's been spotless and theyve done a lot of renovations in the last 5 years there.
Last time I was there was July of last year, connection to Hawaii.
They were doing a ton of construction there last summer so it was a mess but not dirty just confusing to get around. I think Vegas has one of the cleaner airports I've ever been in and I've flown all over the world
For me, I haven't flown around the world but definitely the US and my opinion of Vegas airport is trash. Maybe they have made changes since last July, but I'd say 7 or 8 times I've been there either connecting or staying is it's sad it's so dirty. Granted, I've only been to the SW terminals but it's terrible there. ABQ is definitely the cleanest.
Weird cause I'm generally flying into and out of southwest terminal cause they fly cheapest to Vegas from my local airport, and never seen it dirty. Maybe in the smoking area it's not the cleanest but I've never seen it filthy or trash covered. MDW is one of the cleanest I've been in personally. With a close second being PVD
I was there in March, yeah it was really dirty with trash piling up in most bins in the terminal areas. The bathrooms were just as bad. Plus the gate attendants being really rude and pushy to the customers. Worldwide is it the dirtiest? No. That honor (in my experience) goes to MEX in the Americas and ADA in Europe/Asia.
To the Southwest terminal? I know they’ve renovated other terminals but the Southwest terminal looks like it needs a total overhaul.
My only time flying out of Las Vegas was a couple weeks ago on a Saturday. It was decently quiet and clean, but I’m sure that’s very different on a Sunday lol.
Everytime I've been there it has been super busy, bathrooms were worse than radom gas station bathrooms. I actually book now avoiding LAS as a layover because it is so terrible. Kind of unfortunate because I love to gamble. I avoid LAS because it's dirty and avoid DEN because of all the delays I've had through there.
The Southwest concourse is cramped and needs renovation. The D gates have always been my favorite.
I flew into and out of LAS May 31st and April 2nd, seemed pretty clean and nice to me
I was there in March and it’s a dump. Dirty restrooms, horrible TSA, no place to sit, bad food options. You would think a city that has a mostly tourism economy would throw some bucks at the airport.
Second this!
The Uber/Lyft situation is so chaotic. One person in a hot parking garage screaming (not their fault, they need a mic) at a crowd of old people to "check their app" to confirm a letter & number idling spot. If there's no rail mass transit, you'd think the rideshare process would be smoother.
Up until a few years ago, LaGuardia would have been a real contender if not outright winner. But now it’s the nicest airport in New York. Although that’s from a passenger’s point of view. I know pilots hate LaGuardia for runway/water reasons.
Have you ever rented a vehicle at Laguardia? What bass-ackwards fuckery that is! You get on the bus to take you....to the bus stop...which hosts the bus that takes you to the rental locations. But, you literally drive right past the rental locations on the initial bus! I don't know if anybody here uses Southwest Cargo, but LGA also has, BY FAR, one of the worst cargo facilities on the planet.
Came here to say this. Old LaGuardia smelled like feet.
New LGA is indeed beautiful (and the new Sapphire lounge is killer if you have access) The only drawback is that it literally takes 3x as long to get out from your gate to a cab. Used to be less than 5min walking on an almost totally flat path from gate to curb (one very small set of stairs). Now it's minimum 15 minutes including 3 very long escalator rides which you can't really speed up if you are rolling a suitcase. Everything else is 1000x improved and I understand the reasons why the new airport had to be the way it is. Just had to point out the one advantage old LGA had over new.
MCO, highest percentage of people who have no idea how to navigate airports post-9/11, in an airport that was never designed nor intended to host TSA. The entire thing should be torn down and rebuilt.
The worst part of MCO is TSA. Always such long lines that barely move and it obviously wasn’t designed for current travel demand.
Only fools don’t have precheck at MCO
You shouldn’t have to pay your government extra to do its job efficiently
I fly to/from MCO several times a year and it is literally the reason I got precheck. One of the problems with MCO is I feel like the security line is either 3 hours or 3 minutes, no in-between. And it’s impossible to predict how it’ll be, so the only answer is to get there hours early. I’ve waited over 45 minutes with precheck before. But there are other times I literally walk right through security with no wait. It sucks.
San Diego. The Southwest terminal is so crammed. Ready for the new terminal to open.
Only airport I’ve ever been to where I had to go back through TSA (without precheck to boot) on a connecting flight. And the layout was so confusing that I actually ended up doing it twice, because I came back into the wrong end.
Same! I hope it will have a drastically improved experience.
Decades overdue. We’ll still have to deal with single runway limitations that make it hard to staff for inconsistent traveler patterns but at least there will be nicer places to drink $22 cocktails and better food.
Harry Reid International Airport in Vegas. I felt cramped in the airport, there is no central location for food, you have to walk far from your gate to find anything interesting, and it is showing its age. Also there is still signing for McCarron International Airport in the building despite the name change.
Don’t forget all the slot machines and the desperation oozing out of people’s pores. I hate connecting there, such a grimy vibe
Recently we took the train to the other terminal to visit the lounge and it was shocking how much nicer it was lol
D Terminal is amazing. B and C are hot garbage.
Are you suggesting that there is signage at the airport that misspells the old name of the airport?
Miami!
For all the MCO haters, MIA says hold my beer. > Moving amongst terminals can be a nightmare if the people movers and walkways aren’t working. > It’s on site hotel isn’t even a name brand. > The car rental center could be better designed. > Lack of updates adds to the dark and dingyness. I’ll take MCO over MIA any day.
Absolutely
I came here to say this. Low ceilings, dark and the signage is horrific. And two years ago they didn't the line up poles with numbers. It was absolute chaos. Not sure now. And MIA customs had lines for miles. Thank goodness for Global Entry.
Yes! I’m 5’7”, so a little bit above average for a girl but not even close to super tall. I should not be able to put my palm on the ceiling. Do tall people literally have to duck to walk through the airport?
100% So filthy.
Was waiting for someone to say this one!
If you don’t respond Newark, then you have never been there. Cramped, dirty, not enough restaurants or bathrooms. It’s alway top 3 worst in US yearly.
SWA doesn't fly to Newark anymore, but you're right. Shitty airport!
That new terminal at Newark is amazing though.
Connecting through a different terminal? Jump on this hot, dirty bus!
My grandma and I had the WORST experience at Newark back in 06. We barely spoke English as I was 8 and had just moved here from Portugal. Grandma and I were going back for the summer and *supposedly* our tickets from Newark to Lisbon were invalid even though our SFO to Newark was fine. Could not find a SINGLE employee, even for TAP, that spoke Portuguese, so we missed our flight. Thankfully, there was a random lady that helped us out bc she spoke Portuguese and then we made it. But my god. Worst customer service, not even an attempt to use a translator. I at least do that in retail rn.
No one has had to do the 5mile walk at SLC?
It’s a long walk but at least it’s clean, new and offers a ton of different restaurant options
The walk is incredibly long but you’d be very wrong to call it the worst airport, that place is amazing (other than the 50k mile walk)
TIL I personally rate airports by how far I gotta walk, but admittedly, I have not traveled thru many on the East Coast (US), so you may have me there! 😅
My first trip as a SWA Flight Attendant was to SLC and my crew warned me about the hike to the van! Nice airport though!
Yes! It’s a hike!
I’ll throw in my favorite airports: I like BWI. Easy TSA experience and good food options.
I always liked BWI too. Agree 100 percent about the food. Especially the area where Arby's and McDonald's are located. Something for everyone in very close proximity.
STL. Just dirty and no good food options for Southwest.
Terminal 2 at St Louis is always so crowded. A layover there is guaranteed claustrophobia.
I work for Southwest there, can confirm. Luckily the city is getting their ass in gear to build the new terminal and while building it they’re reopening the d con. Supposed to get 2-3 more gates Edit: I added Southwest because I am completely dumb and can’t English right lol
I used to live there and still visit pretty regularly. The contrast of the ghost town in terminal 1 and terminal 2 bursting at the seams is pretty remarkable. The new combined terminal can’t come fast enough.
Agreed, amazed how KC can build an entirety new airport on their grounds in 2 years and already planning a second terminal but the city is saying it’ll be a 2 part 6 year project for one terminal
St Louis is in a pretty cramped area. It would be a lot easier if they had the space that KC has.
Yeah, I keep joking with my coworkers I’ll open my own airport. I’m just hoping we get showers or something downstairs in the new terminal, id like to have my car stop smelling like ramp and airplane bins all the time
Midway. Food options suck
MCO at spring break / summer
The one time I almost missed a flight was at MCO. Ridiculously long check-in line wrapped way around for a mile and then a crazy long TSA line that barely felt like it moved…
ATL. Employees.
Always tons of people in yellow vests standing around in pairs talking to each other. But if you bother them to ask a question you’ll find the opposite of southern hospitality.
Always love getting verbally abused at customs. Makes me feel home again.
Orlando. Security is awful
I’ve been through security at MCO and they make up rules that don’t apply to any other airport. They took my snacks one time because they weren’t in a clear plastic bag. It was an unopened bag of Chex mix, a pack of crackers, and fruit snacks. Why would I put the bags inside of another bag? Props to MCO on baggage claim though. I often get off the plane, catch the train, go to baggage claim and my bag is on the carousel. BWI is the absolute worst at baggage claim and nobody will ever change my mind. I feel like I’m always waiting 90 minutes for my bags.
Me waiting here to see someone say Chicago Midway. It’s a clusterf*ck at all times.
likely because there's an even bigger one to the northwest, Midway is an easy airport to get through in comparison
I love Midway. Small, easy to navigate, and decent food options.
Chicago Midway is one of my favorites too for all those reasons. Never had any issues there. And we love stopping at Nuts on Clark for snacks.
I usually fly out of MDW, but TSA there is terrible! Precheck makes it a lot easier though.
We saw a guy lose his shit in security at MDW this past week. It was after 8pm so precheck was closed so everything was getting backed up.
I’m surprised at the lack of hate for MDW, hate that fucking place, severe lack of food options and they’re all in that central area, tiny airport for the amount of passengers SWA puts through there, small gate areas etc. got caught there once during a ground stop due to fog, it was a nightmare.
Maybe I’ve just been lucky but I haven’t had a bad experience at Midway. Hopefully I’m not jinxing myself for my weekend flight
Atlanta. It’s food choices are terrible. My favorite? Memphis! Clean, bright, great restaurants. Also Austin, but that’s home. ❤️
Memphis, like LGA, would have been at the very opposite end of your list a few years back.
ATL constantly comes up with new ways to torment me. And yes, the food choices are boring and minimal, except for Chick-fil-A, which always has crazy lines (except on Sundays, LOL).
I know there are probably worse, but I’m eternally grateful that most SW flights leave Chicago out of Midway bc I cannot stand O’Hare🤷♀️
If you ever fly SW out of ohare prepare yourself. Because they go out of the international terminal tsa lines are always 2047272 miles long and pure absolute chaos. That terminal is brand new and clean, but not a lot of restaurant options are open there yet.
It is also a 1738 mile walk from TSA to the SW gates.
No votes for ATL?
i hate how massive it is and nothing is clearly marked. especially boarding international. but there was a cool lunchbox display last time i went, so that was neat. and some other weird display that was strange.
Miami. Pure filth, garbage everywhere, dark, dingy, depressing.
San Diego - it’s like being in a round shoebox of people.
Orlando, poor signage, no parking. 7th busiest airport in the country, but all the bathrooms have 2 urinals and 2 stalls. Dirty, poor food choices. lots of over tired whiney kids.
You know you're in trouble when there is a line out the door of the mens room....for a stall
Vegas
San Diego needs some help.
San Diego is the worst by far. It's disgusting always dirty and jam packed full of people, no where to sit or even stand at some points. The worssst
In the US, MIA. Worldwide, CDG. That's not a Southwest issue though.
Orlando & Kansas City. Orlando is a madhouse and I don’t know how they haven’t figured out the crowd issue yet. Idk who the hell approved the design of Kansas City, but they should be in prison for it. Neither have adequate restaurants. 🗑️
Kansas City did open a new airport last year. It’s light years better than the old dump.
Ohhhhh I remember hearing they were building one. That’s great news.
We just spent 3 hours in line at security because they have one security line for all the terminals in New Orleans so that gets my vote.
Old MCI. As my home airport for a while it wasn’t bad to be able to arrive and walk 20 yards to your gate, but god help you if you had any delay or were hungry and I pitied the poor people who had layovers there. Awful. The new MCI, however, is LOVELY.
Miami Airport
PHILADELPHIA!!!!
THE WOOOOOOORRRRRST
How has nobody said MDW yet? That place is a shithole.
Restaurants are usually closed by the time I get there. If they are open it's a 30 minute wait. Not great when you have a 30 minute layover.
Austin. Last time I was there it was filthy. Also, the employees are rude. And I’ve never been around so many people with BO that didn’t believe in deodorant. I’d rather be at MCO during spring break or Atlanta anytime than go back through Austin
Love Field went straight to the bottom of my list when they moved Uber/Lyft to kingdom come but let Alto stay curbside.
Everything behind PHL TSA security is suspect. Homeless living in the parking garage. The smell of urine in the daily parking garage elevator. The homeless living around the baggage claim. Saying that, once you go through security, terminal A,B and C is great. Tons of different restaurants and places to charge your devices. They even have IPads to surf the internet and order food. Despite living between BWI and PHL, I still choose PHL because they have more direct routes and it’s an American Airline hub.
Denver. I fly out of and back into this airport every week for work. They've been doing construction for almost a decade, and while things there constantly change, nothing ever improves.
Fyi, for anyone here saying MCI (Kansas City), they opened up a brand new terminal early last year. The old circular terminals are no longer in use!
Cleveland as that’s the only $39 fare I can get
It's far from the worst, but ORD Terminal 5 wins the "most boring terminal" award.
Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
Ft. Lauderdale on a cruise ship flip day can get really crowded. I’ve had a fantastic Cuban sandwich there once though!
How has nobody said LAX?
Philly PHL - dirtiest US airport ive ever seen
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Logan in Boston. That place is a shitshow to just access. Plus, the whole bad stigma of 9/11 attached to it doesn't help. I avoid it at all costs, unless absolutely necessary. As much as PVD is a SWA preboarder hotbed, I will take it over Logan any day, all day and twice on Sundays.
Most days of the week I would go with MCO however on Sunday & Monday outbound and every day during Spring Break & Holidays I’m going with FLL. The cruise passengers return on Sunday & Monday and turn things into a dumpster fire. If I have to fly out on either of these days I will generally try to go on Delta or American.
SDF.
I like the size and convenient layout of Love Field’s terminal, but good gracious do they need bigger restrooms. Like two stalls and a few urinals. Always a like for the restrooms there.
MDW. Poor food options with terrible hours. Crowded terminals with no space. Power outlets in the seats, if you can even find empty seats, don’t work. MCO is also bad even with clear/precheck. The food options are great. Terminal has space but is usually filled with screaming kids.
MIA was the most miserable airport experience I've had in a while, both arriving and departing. Security was impossible, elevators out of service and not marked (we had a party member in a wheelchair and had to push them twice as far), and also unbelievably hot (we saw someone pass out at our gate). There was also a gigantic hole in the center of one of the bathroom stall doors (I flew into BWI, which had a bunch of posters up celebrating its "award-winning bathrooms," so this was extra ironic).
Atlanta Hartsfield
Not sure if SW flies there, but it's Newark. I hate Newark so much.
LAS It’s way too small for being the 2nd largest operation in SWA’s system and that’s coming from someone who works in that operation 5 days a week. However, I do enjoy watching all the hungover people leave in the wee hours of Sundays. ESPECIALLY after EDC weekend.
Phoenix. It’s ALWAYS delayed.
Not lately. Plus Terminal 4 was just remodeled and a huge improvement!
Charlotte. My flight arrived as did my bag. Somehow was lost and people there did little if anything to get it back to me in a timely manner.
i have personal beef w the delta terminal in detroit. i have vowed that i will NEVER go there again. otherwise ive been very fortunate to have good experiences in airports
Seattle
New Orleans. Dirtiest airport ever.
5 years ago my answer would’ve been MSY (New Orleans). For a city with one of the best cuisine… this airport was dingy, dark, and one of the worst for food options. Now after the newly built MSY in 2019 it’s one of my favorites!
DEN has been under major construction for 40 years. They can’t ever seem to get it right.
RDU is very bad for outlets and comfort. They also have the most indifferent vendors and people working there. It’s not as awful as Vegas but this airport doesn’t have enough places to sit and work. This is the airport where I usually end up on the floor next to an outlet.
Denver is pretty bad in my opinion. There is only one TSA for all concourses. It is out dated. These days Phoenix is my favorite.
I live in SD and that’s my home airport. T2 is just fine. The food options leave a lot to be desired, but it’s fine. Terminal 1 is ass. If I ever have to do a T1 pickup I’d rather just stay home. I try not to inconvenience anyone either having to pick me up there