Screaming children catapult through the crowded airport hallways, searching for their parents and the nearest play place to wreck. Grumpy TSA agents argue with ignorant travelers, unwilling to agree on a middle ground. Bustling restaurants and bars overcharge customers for subpar waiting food while thousands pile by, yapping on the phone, coughing, and sneezing into open air.
Travel continues as a positive leisure activity for millions, though bunches of travelers believe airports are by far the worst part of traveling. Frequent flyers determine the absolute worst airports in the world.
1. Chicago O’Hare International Airport, USA
I’ve never had a pleasant experience flying into or out of Chicago O’Hare. The first standout instance occurred a year ago when I tried to help someone with their boarding pass. As I assisted this person, the TSA agent called me brainless. We got into a verbal discussion where I informed him he shouldn’t be rude to the customers, thus aggravating him further to the point of calling me a brainless traveler.
The second instance occurred a few days ago during a lengthy layover from Hong Kong. I entered the three-hour-long customs line, inching forward like bored caterpillars, hoping for a snapshot of the end of the line. Following the customs line, each clock in the airport boasted a different time zone, confusing passengers of their departure time along with evershifting gates. Other complaints about the airport revolve around the bustling foot traffic toward seating areas with no space to relax.
2. Orlando International Airport, USA
Orlando airport’s location, smack dab in the hub of an amusement wonderland, with close distances between the Kennedy Space Center and Cocoa Beach, makes it one of the busiest, densely-populated airports in the U.S. and the world. Due to the great amount of people shuffling in and out of the airport, security grows hasty with long lines and confused tourists. Major complaints regarding the airport encompass the bumper-to-bumper traffic to arrive at the terminals and extensive lines waiting for luggage to arrive post-arrival.
Another reason travelers despise the Orlando airport points to the constant storms passing through the area. Given the Floridian location of the airport, storms occur almost daily. With storms, we have thunder and lightning, two natural occurrences forcing planes to delay their departures. Out-of-towners fail to realize these everyday weather events impact air travel, so they grow agitated, directing their anger toward the airport and flight crew.
3. Denver International Airport, USA
The Denver airport sits 25 miles outside of its namesake, closer to Aurora than Denver. A train system facilitates mass transportation between terminals and arrival gates, though the trains rarely function. However, this grievance led the airport to start maintenance on the vehicles.
Consumers take issue with the tent-esque format of the airport, citing it as an awkward airport layout. The Colorado airport encounters tons of unexpected weather incidents each year, compelling the aircrew to delay or cancel flights. A wide, long airport design vexes weary travelers, too.
4. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, USA
Picture an airport where 45% of the flights face delays or disruptions. The Dallas airport exists as one of the busiest airports in the world, even when weather phenomena or technical issues cause frequent disruptions. My dad, who used to work out of Dallas, said, “It’s massive. Not for the faint of heart.” The airport tries to capitalize on the massive size by designating numerous TSA checkpoints throughout the same terminals. For example, say you’re flying out of Southwest. Instead of all passengers walking to one checkpoint for security screenings, customers choose which one suits them best—a good idea in theory but challenging to execute regarding crowd control.
Fliers voice a main concern about the airport’s inability to house the number of people it holds on a daily basis. With the constant barrage of thousands of travelers, the infrastructure weathers for the worst, not to mention the dirt and debris left behind by said travelers.
5. Los Angeles International Airport, USA
The last time I flew out of LAX, I chose Southwest. I hopped out of the Uber at LAX to join the expanding baggage check line. That line passed other airline desks, garnering two thousand people for a two-hour wait time to send a bag to the plane. I arrived later than expected at the airport, thanks to LA’s infamous traffic, so I made the game-time decision to hop out of line and check my bag with one of the attendants outside. The entire process, I feared missing my flight. Security faced backups due to understaffing, and my legs only moved so quickly carrying a 30-pound carry-on through the scuffed floors of the California airport.
Transportation to the ride-share pickups creates quite a hassle mixed with the airport’s traffic congestion. The first time I flew to LAX, I could not find where to go for a rideshare transport. I walked outside for about 45 minutes, searching for a sign to point me in the correct direction. A lot of LAX travelers share similar concerns about the tiny or lack of helpful signs throughout the airport. Lack of seating also infuriates tired travelers after hours of moving between cities.
6. Miami International Airport, USA
Miami Airport's main protestation includes its antiquated layout. Miami locals report the airport design mirrors older Miami, a laid-back beach town, rather than a flashy, high-class, million-dollar project, although New Miami’s appearance clashes with the airport’s appearance. The layout confuses passengers, and some people claim they walk for undisclosed amounts of time, hoping to find their gate. Other people say they take trams, walk miles, and still struggle to find their gates.
A jetsetter said they arrived at the airport around 5 a.m., expecting to breeze through Miami TSA. The traveler stated they didn’t pass through security until 1.5 hours later, granted only five people were in front of them. Pair lengthy wait times with flocks of people barreling through the airport, contributing to dust trails and dirt storms, and you get the Miami International Airport.
7. Boston Logan International Airport, USA
A myriad of rude workers, inefficient modes of transit, and nonexistent signage molds into the travesty that is the Boston Logan International Airport. Circa 2022, a friend and I traveled to Boston for a concert in the city. We stayed the weekend, expecting a quick trip in and out of the busy city. We experienced an enormous wait time in the security. One of the agents decided my friend needed an extra security pat down where she questioned her country of origin and bordered on verbally attacking her. My TSA situation included a questionnaire facilitated by a bored worker. Succeeding these happenings, we both ended up missing our flights.
The other memorable moment from my experience at the Boston airport found me requesting an Uber to the international terminal. The Uber driver dropped me off at the domestic terminal. I asked for assistance finding an avenue to the correct terminal, but he drove off. I entered the airport, asking a total of six people where to go. The sole person who helped me donated an irritated finger-point toward the nearest shuttle.
8. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, USA
Last year, I picked my friend up from the Atlanta airport. On the way to the airport, I made a wrong turn, opting toward the International arrival terminal instead of the domestic arrival gate. I laughed at the mistake, thinking I could pull a U-turn and head back to scoop my friend. I’ve never been more wrong. The international gates stand about 25 minutes from the domestic gates. I hopped on the highway, shaking my head, ready to apologize for the delay. As I drove back toward the domestic gates, numerous confusing road signs popped up, alerting me to turn here or avoid a turn there, until I eventually arrived at the domestic gates an hour later.
Inside the gargantuan airport, globetrotters take a multitude of trams, escalators, trains, and moving walkways to find their gates. Passengers will probably appear in front of a gate declaring a delayed flight, all inside one of the busiest airports in the U.S. Understaffed TSA posts and immigration windows supplement visitors’ arguments against the Atlanta airport.
9. Buffalo Niagara International Airport, USA
Situated a few miles outside of Niagara Falls is Buffalo Airport, a couple miles outside the heart of downtown Buffalo. The airport tends to stay on the tinier side of campuses, but don’t let its size fool you. The TSA agents close the gates at random intervals, preventing passengers from boarding their flights. When you approach the airline attendants with issues, they grumble and groan, unwilling to help you reschedule.
Buffalo airport cancels a great deal of flights without alerting the customers. One time, I sat in a gate, waiting for my flight to take off. As the announcement about the flight cancelation blared over the speakers, every single worker disappeared, almost anticipating the passenger outcry.
10. Humberto Delgado Airport, Lisbon, Portugal
Severe understaffing to combat the extreme amount of inbound and outbound passengers equals a flawed system in terms of herding thousands between spaces. The workers attempt to control the crowds, although a few hundred people vs. thousands rarely work in mass settings. The airport workers feel submerged by the overflow of people weaving through the airport, which translates to indifference or anger aimed at the tourists.
Crowds complain of ridiculous wait times, whether at security, customer services, or gates, inflating the aggravated airport experience. One person claimed they waited three hours to find their gate, three hours to speak to an agent for a new route home, and two hours waiting for the rebooked flight. A different traveler mentioned they slept at a table inside a Burger King after the airline delayed their flight.
11. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France
My fondest memory of the CDG airport encompassed a four-hour trek from Paris to a two-hour train ride followed by a shuttle bus to the airport. Since we chose to travel to Paris in the summer, we dealt with the repercussions: AKA, no central air anywhere in the 100-degree Parisian weather. Arriving at the airport, we exhaled relief upon walking into the air-conditioned airport, soaking in the cool before departing to our gates.
Our custom checkpoint took two hours, inching forward like a snail on a summer day. It seemed a few people were tasked with checking passports and interrogating tourists while the others sat around. After the customs officers cleared us from limbo, we decided to move through duty-free, purchase a few gifts, and sit down somewhere comfortable to eat. My friend and I traversed through several checkpoints, aimlessly wandering and searching for signage and a tasty bite to eat and finding neither.
12. Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila, Philippines
A recurring commonality through all of these “bad” airports is understaffed facilities and slow-moving processes. Travelers moving through Manila, an airport in the Philippines, mention those issues as well as grievances about uncomfortable heat inside the airport. The heat makes sense, given the airport’s location, but the customers complain the heat adds an extra layer of irritation to the traveler’s shared space. Plus, a thread discussed the lack of water or food available for customers to soothe their flight anxieties.
A collective harp also brings up the worker’s unprofessionalism toward customers. One person referenced how the customs workers joked around, favoring humor over completing their tasks. Almost every Manila passenger talked about the ensuing hubbub from the airport not accepting electronic boarding passes. That process forces lots of passengers to re-enter a line to grab a physical boarding pass when they could’ve avoided waiting in a new line with an announcement about the boarding pass requirements.
13. Heathrow Airport, London, England
I’ll admit it. I almost got thrown out of Heathrow Airport a few years ago. Fate aligned me, an overtired, grumpy traveler, with a strict TSA agent who urged me to put all my liquids in a clear bag outside my backpack. I followed suit, somehow forgetting a tiny face wash container lodged into the corner of my bag. The guy searched through my bag, insinuating I was a suspicious traveler, picked up the face wash, and shook it toward me as a kindergarten teacher wags their finger toward a misbehaving student.
I should’ve bit my tongue, but I leaned into my frustration, speaking, “Can’t you just throw it away? I have a flight to catch.” At the same time, the words left my mouth. I realized the intensity of the act I had committed. The worker launched into a fit, throwing my bag into a special screening. The debacle lasted an hour more than I had planned, resulting in me scurrying through the low-ceilinged, strangely designed airport toward my landing point.
