The Best and Worst U.S. Airports | WSJ

WSJ’s Scott McCartney released this year’s list ranking the country’s 20 largest airports. After looking at 15 metrics related to operations, value and convenience, the list has a new No. 1.

Full list:
1. Phoenix (PHX)
2. Denver (DEN)
3. Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
3. Detroit Metro (DTW)
5. Orlando (MCO)
6. Las Vegas (LAS)
7. Atlanta (ATL)
8. Dallas/Forth Worth (DFW)
9. Los Angeles (LAX)
10. Houston Bush (IAH)
11. Charlotte (CLT)
12. Seattle (SEA)
13. Minneapolis (MSP)
14. San Francisco (SFO)
15. Boston (BOS)
16. Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
17. Miami (MIA)
18. Philadelphia (PHL)
19. New York JFK (JFK)
20. Newark (EWR)

Photo: Getty Images

More from the Wall Street Journal:

#WSJ #Travel

[wsj]

Full list:
1. Phoenix (PHX)
2. Denver (DEN)
3. Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
3. Detroit Metro (DTW)
5. Orlando (MCO)
6. Las Vegas (LAS)
7. Atlanta (ATL)
8. Dallas/Forth Worth (DFW)
9. Los Angeles (LAX)
10. Houston Bush (IAH)
11. Charlotte (CLT)
12. Seattle (SEA)
13. Minneapolis (MSP)
14. San Francisco (SFO)
15. Boston (BOS)
16. Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
17. Miami (MIA)
18. Philadelphia (PHL)
19. New York JFK (JFK)
20. Newark (EWR)

Props to that director of the worst airport for having the guts and doing the interview.

[Chasls]

Pretty cool on Newark to respond to being the worst.

[rjones]

Most are carefully designed to not let tired travelers take a nap.

[oscargb]

The Phoenix airport guy was really happy for being number 1 😂

[coolstuffunboxings]

I rather have a McDonald’s and Panda Express at the airport instead of a local restaurant that charges $20 for a simple sandwich.

[ohmyblindman]

Don't rent a car in the Phoenix car rental monstrosity, the surcharges are outrageous, do a van to off airport discount chains. Newark airport has been "under construction" every time I've used it, I'm 65, and if I never fly out of it again, I can die a happy man.

[bluehorseshoe]

Any system that gives LGA a passing grade is a flawed system.

[ssshddddd]

At this point I'm actually scared to go to NY airports, everyone hates them 😂

[jhannheras]

3:00 His justification was that he handles 3 of the worst airports and all of them have similar conditions. No Kidding!! there must be something wrong with the Port Authority and their upper management!! Then, this guy blames the infrastructure! Ok partially that is a reason but still, it can not justify long lines in TSA, poor customer service, delays (ok could be the weather), the restaurant (seriously those concessions are on them). Absurd!

[mickmccrory]

Free wifi... Ft Lauderdale
Free coffee... Atlanta.
Farthest walk from arrival to departure... Chicago O'Hare

[vrilliax]

Just an interesting story I have, when I was around 15 I was going on my first flight by myself, I was absolutely terrified, almost got stuck in Atlanta (went from South Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia back to Phoenix Arizona). They let the plane take off with only around 10 passengers, had the entire row to myself, they even gave me all the snacks saying they would’ve just thrown them out at the end of the night anyways. Since it was so delayed most people just didn’t go on the flight which is why it was so empty but I was 15 in a random state with no parents so I couldn’t do that. Anyways got into PHX at around 1:00 AM. The airport was totally empty, by far the coolest experience I’ve ever had, never seen an airport with no people in it

[jackfrank]

I was just at the Phoenix airport on Monday and I can tell you that they certainly didn’t have outlets in every seat. And once I found one, most of them didn’t work.

[SpaghettiKillah]

Plot twist: when you compared them to other top international airports: they're *ALL* the worst 🤣🤣

[IllusiveDude]

The only reason why I like Newark is because Is it's close proximity to where I live . It's a 30 min drive or 45 min train ride . Being a United hub I can get connected to pretty much any where in the world.

[thebananaman]

I 100% agree with Newark being the worst. One time, I had to spend 30 minutes waiting for a flight in terminal a, the seats were super uncomfortable while there was a 15 minute line at a small concession stand in the center. It just felt overcrowded.

[JG-pwcr]

I'm a huge DIA fan. Centrally located in the US, so there are tons of flights to airports all over the US. Plus tons of international ones. Prices are really good, with all of the competition and the fact that Frontier has their hub/hq here. It's a newer airport, very well maintained and clean. It's not super close to downtown but it's easy to get in and out of the airport. Parking is really reasonable as well, usually can park for 5 or 6 bucks a day with coupons that are easy to get.

[JhonnyBoi]

Sad that we have 3 airports here in DC but not one on the list smh.

[TomsLife]

Newark's renovated Terminal C is pretty nice. Nothing special but well-lit, plenty of outlets, bathroom upgrades. Lots of seats with tables in front of them so I can chill on my computer - I have found that lots of airports I have been to don't have that.

[kutter_ttl]

Even before clicking the link I knew Newark would be on the bottom. I got a bro-in-law who grew up in New Jersey and he always flew out of New York if he could.