If you travel a lot, you start to learn about the different vibes from various airports. Smaller airports tend to be, for lack of better words (and to steal from Bobby McFerrin for a moment), “don’t worry, be happy.” Larger airports? They may or may not try to be as stress-free as possible, but really? Not so much.
Established in the mid-1980s, Condé Nast Traveler is a travel magazine published by U.S. mass media company Condé Nast. Their focus is on luxury and lifestyle travel – inspirational travel, destinations, places to stay, news and advice, the best places to go, shopping and what they call their “Gold List” – a.k.a. the best of the best, as selected by their international editors.
All told, Condé Nast Traveler has won 25 National Magazine Awards.
Last week, Condé Nast Traveler (CNT) revealed the world’s most stressful airports, ranked. From CNT:
Air travel has never been more accessible, yet the experience of moving through airports often feels more strained than it used to. Passenger numbers continue to climb, terminals are busier than ever, and delays have become a familiar part of modern travel. At the same time, expectations around efficiency and ease have only sharpened, making friction harder to ignore.
They used the study from Australia-based travel insurance company iSelect, which has been in the travel insurance business for over 25 years.
How they did it
According to iSelect: This dataset ranks 50 of the world’s most popular airports on how stressful they are to travel through. Each airport was assessed across punctuality and passenger experience factors, and once all data was collected and normalised, each was given a score between 0 and 1, before being combined into a total score out of 100. These airports were then ranked from best to worst.
The factors they used, from Aviation Edge and Flightradar24 were:
- Average departure delay (counted for 25% of the score)
- Percent of departures canceled (counted for 25% of the score)
- Getting to the airport (10% of the score)
- Check-in security (10% of the score)
- Security (10%)
- Immigration & customs (10%)
- Baggage claim (10%)
The worst five
5. Chicago O’Hare Int’l Airport (ORD), USA
iSelect marked ORD as the world’s 5th most stressful airport, with particularly negative comments about baggage claim and waits for TSA.
CNT also suggested that the typical weather patterns around ORD, especially during the winter, help to increase delays and cancellations. That, in turn, affects connections and congestion around the airport in general.
4. John F. Kennedy Int’l Airport (JFK), USA
JFK came in #4 on iSelect’s list, thanks to horrible scores for customs and immigration, third worst for the TSA security checkpoint, and fifth worst for the ease of getting to the airport. Combined, they make for a lot of stress.
CNT also added, “Multiple terminals operated by different airlines, heavy international traffic, and frequent delays place sustained pressure on infrastructure—even as redevelopment projects continue.”
3. Manchester Airport (MAN), UK
Proving that stressful airports aren’t limited to the U.S., MAN was found to be the third most stressful airport in the world.
iSelect suggested MAN was rock bottom for BOTH baggage claim and security check wait times. CNT reiterated that, also adding the airport’s ongoing congestion and operational problems.
2. Humberto Delgado Airport (a.k.a. Lisbon Airport), Portugal
The second most stressful airport in the world is apparently in Portugal. According to iSelect, it “boasted” the highest delayed departure time of all airports in their index. Their flight cancellation rate of 1.49% was also the third-worst of all 50 airports. Check-in was also something of a cluster.
CNT echoed iSelect’s sentiments, also adding that the airport was built for many fewer passengers, which could easily cause all the delays its passengers experience.
1. Newark Liberty Int’l Airport (EWR), USA
We’re #1! We’re #1!
And talking about “America First,” EWR was determined to be THE MOST stressful airport in the world.
From iSelect:
Newark was placed second-worst again for security check with a 70% score, and worst for customs and immigration wait time with a 66% score. If you’re flying into Newark Liberty International Airport you might be waiting some time for your luggage, as they scored the third worst in this factor with 71%. Newark Liberty International Airport was also let down by flight delays and cancellations, with an average departure delay of 21.40 minutes over the past year, and a cancellation rate of 1.43%, meaning there could be a chance that you get all the way through to your gate, only to find you might not be flying out on time.
CNT agrees, also adding that their airport has heavy passenger volume, limited runway capacity, and frequent delays. Added to congestion across all terminals, and you’ve got a recipe for stressful disaster.
Here’s the whole list for the Top 5:
What about the least stressful?
Although iSelect didn’t include it in their rankings, they discovered that the least stressful airports tended to be from Asia and the Middle East. In order the least stressful were:
3. Incheon Int’l Airport
2. Hamad Int’l Airport
1. Singapore Changi Airport
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