Because we live in the United States and most of the social media we read is from that country, we learn a lot about the best and worst of travel in terms of, you guessed it, the U.S.
- The best airports in America in 2023 (JD Power via Forbes)
- The best & worst US airlines (WalletHub via Yahoo Finance)
- The best & worst hotel chains in America (ASCI via Clark Howard)
Not that there’s anything wrong with determining what’s best and worst in your home country…just that there’s a whole world out there, y’know? 😉
Take Canada, for example
I’m sure there are some fancypants surveys out there, perhaps done by the CBC, to tell you all about Canada’s airports. But surveys always have some sort of criteria that may or may not make the survey feel, well, kind of bogus (like how you might trust a survey of 1,000 people less than one that surveyed 50,000 people). Better to ask the people who use the airports the most…Canadians!
And that’s exactly what one person from British Columbia, who goes by the moniker the_monkey_, did on Reddit a few years ago. They asked their fellow members of the r/Canada subreddit:
What do you think are the best and worst airports in Canada?
the_monkey_ started the survey by answering it themselves. They said their favourites were Vancouver and Calgary because they were clean, modern, efficient at security and customs, and the food court has a great viewing area. They also said they didn’t like Winnipeg (but they admitted their opinion was formed before the airport was rehabbed…so now they choose Edmonton as the worst because it’s so out of the way).
Not a whole lot of people answered the survey – only 33, LOL. Not everyone replied the same way – some had 1 answer, and some had 17. Some gave the best and worst, some only gave the best, and some only gave the worst. But it was still interesting to see peoples’ responses.
As a reference point, according to the Government of Canada, there are:
- 26 airports in the National Airports System (NAS)
- 71 regional and local airports serving scheduled passenger traffic
- 31 small and satellite airports without scheduled passenger services
- 13 remote airports providing the only reliable year-round transportation link to isolated communities
- 11 Arctic airports (including the three territorial capital airports counted already in the NAS)
Best Airports (and why)
1. Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
Vancouver got 6 votes, which was the most amount any airport got for “worst” airport, too (spoilers – it wasn’t Vancouver LOL). People said it was clean, organized, beautiful, and “very nice.”
2. Edmonton International Airport (YEG)
Edmonton snagged the #2 spot, with 4 votes. People chose it because it has good shopping, the hotel attached to it is nice, and it looked good after its latest renovation.
3. 4-way tie: Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ), Victoria International Airport (YYJ), John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (a.k.a. Toronto–Hamilton International Airport, a.k.a. Hamilton Airport) (YHM), Comox Airport (YQQ)
Each of these airports got 2 votes, giving them a 4-way tie for third place. Here’s what people said about them:
- Billy Bishop – it’s so near downtown Toronto, it’s never busy, and they had free coffee and snacks (this survey is a few years old – I’ve read that the free coffee and snack mix no longer exist).
- Victoria – It’s “cute” 😉
- Hamilton – The security line goes quickly, and there’s lots of parking
- Comox – Being tiny has its advantages. You can stay outside and they’ll do a flight call when it’s time to go thorugh security
4. 7-way tie: Kitchener/Waterloo Regional Airport (YKF), Fredericton International Airport (YFC), Inuvik (Mike Zubko) Airport (YEV), Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (formerly and still commonly referred to as Montréal–Dorval International Airport) (YUL), Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), Abbotsford International Airport (YXX), Calgary International Airport (YYC).
Seven airports tied for 4th place, with 1 vote each. People voted for these airports because of:
- Kitchner/Waterloo – They have direct flights to Calgary, it’s just one small room so there’s zero stress, and they have a good cafe.
- Fredericton – It’s hard to get lost in (I love that answer)
- Inuvik – they have a good restaurant
- Montréal–Trudeau – It’s efficient for its size
- Halifax – It’s small, they have good Wi-Fi, there are lots of charging stations
- Abbotsford – it’s easy to get through and the staff is friendly
- Calgary – it’s organized and clean
Worst Airports (and why)
1. Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
With 6 votes, Toronto-Pearson got the non-coveted #1 spot for worst airport. Voters said it was too busy, security was very slow, the parking sucks, the food options suck, the staff was rude, and, my favorite, it was “soulless.”
2. Calgary International Airport (YYC)
Although it tied for 4th place for best airport, it also got 4 votes for worst, which earned it the #2 spot. Whomp whomp. People said it had a poor design, it’s too far away from everything, and their system for snow remal is horrible.
3. Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
It may have gotten the #1 spot for best airport in Canada, but it got 2 votes for worst airport, which put it in 3rd place. Why? “It’s always under construction.” (Note
4. 6-way tie: Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), Kelowna International Airport (YLW), Edmonton International Airport (YEG), St. John’s International Airport (YYT), Regina International Airport (YQR), Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (formerly and still commonly referred to as Montréal–Dorval International Airport)
Six airports each got 1 vote, which tied them all for 4th place. People said these airports were the worst because:
- Halifax – It’s s**tty (I don’t write ’em, I just report on ’em)
- Kelowna – it’s cramped, it’s dated and security is slow
- Edmonton – it’s in an inconvenient location
- St. John’s – there are too few food options
- Regina – it’s too small and the only thing past security is a Timmy’s (translation: Tim Horton’s)
- Montréal–Trudeau – It’s a s**thole (not the same person who voted for Halifax)
Is this survey legit?
PC: Wpcpey / Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 4.0
Oh, so absolutely NOT, LOL! I mean, it was only 33 comments on a Reddit thread (although Google might consider that legit enough to be the #1 hit, nowadays #IYKYK). That being said, it’s interesting to see how “Everyperson Canada” feels about their airports, as well as what they feel are the important issues in saying it’s the best or worst. Things like size, friendliness of employees, and distance to/from where people live and work all count to what one would assume are everyday citizens…no mentions of lounges, Michelin rated restaurants, etc.
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