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Southwest Florida Intl. Airport Is One of the Best Airports in the World For Wait Times

Author Joe Winner
RSW was not busy coming home yesterday but it was leaving.

We are certainly spoiled here in Fort Myers and all of Southwest Florida when it comes to our Southwest Florida Airport. I always notice how efficiently I can move from terminal, through security, and to the gate. I’ve been to a lot of airports and that’s just not the case in many places. Well, now RSW is being noted as one of the most efficient airports in the world when it comes to wait times.

In a new study, Casago analyzed passenger reviews on airlinequality.com, rating queueing times between 1 and 5 stars. Individual airports and countries were then ranked to identify where has the highest percentage of positive reviews for airport waiting times.

Here’s the fun part. Southwest Florida Intl. Airport is ranked as the best in the country, and 7th in the entire world.

Southswest Florida Intl Airport

I’m really not surprised at all. I’ve been using the Southwest Florida Airport (RSW) since the old terminal and it’s always been a good experience.

A note on this study. These are people going to a review site to rate how well the airport managed wait times. For instance, you have to be pretty passionate about your experience to want to go through the trouble to do that. But RSW has always been that efficient. I try to always show up 2 hours before my flight at any airport I go to. Wherever I am in the country. At RSW I spend 90 minutes at a bar because I got there so early. Not a bad thing!

Meanwhile, the polar opposite of this would be just down Alligator Alley and over to Miami. Be prepared to wait if you fly there. They don’t call it MIA for nothing.

Southwest Florida Airport on top of these rankings

Key Findings From Casago

  • Singapore Changi Airport is the world’s best for queueing times (74.50% of passengers rate the queuing times either 4 or 5 stars)
  • The world’s worst airport for queuing is Grenoble Alpes Isère Airport in France (just 1.59% of reviews are 4 or 5 stars)
  • Four U.S. airports, including Southwest Florida Intl. Airport (66.67%) and Portland Intl. Airport (61.29%) are among the world’s best for queuing
  • The UK is home to three of Europe’s worst-rated, London Stansted Airport (8.88%), London Luton Airport (9.48%) and Belfast Intl. Airport (10.53%)
  • People from Malta leave the fewest positive reviews (21.21% of 4 or 5 stars) while Estonian reviewers are the least likely to complain (55.17% reviews are 4 or 5 stars)
  • Jamaica is the worst country in the world for airport lines – local airports are only rated positively by passengers 6.25% of the time

RSW Named Number One Airport In America

RSW Named Number One Airport In America

Fort Myers is known for having the best beaches, golf courses and sunsets. Now, it will also be known for having the best airport too.

Being from Chicago, I was used to flying out of Ohare, which is one of the busiest airports in the country. Not only was traffic on the highway always terrible, but parking was easily an hour event, not to mention expensive. Also, the lines for check-in and TSA were insanely long. So, it was a breath of fresh air after moving here to be able to fly out of RSW. Yes, they may recommend arriving 2 hours before your flight leaves, but I’ve never waited longer than 10 minutes to get through security. It’s convenient, parking is reasonable, and no trams or people movers are necessary to get around the airport.

I’m not the only one to think that Southwest Florida International (RSW) is pretty great. Travel Lens thinks so too. Travel Lens is an online publication that features best hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, and airports. There are over 5000 public airports in the United States. Travel Lens looked at the 50 busiest airports in the country and factors like wait times, passenger satisfaction, CO2 emissions and Google review ratings.

On the USA Airport Report by Travel Lens, RSW came in at number one with a rating of 8.06/10.  The airport has a Google review rating of 4.5 /5. While it’s not the biggest airport, it may surprise you to learn that it’s the second busiest single runway airport in the United States. The average wait time is just 16 minutes and there are low pollution levels.

Ben Siegel is the executive director of the Lee County Port Authority. He said about their rating “We would not be able to have this success without our employees, the airlines, Transportation Security Administration, concessions and airport business partners who work so hard each and every day to make the travel experience at RSW a positive one for our guests.”

Top 10 Airports in America, According to Travel Lens:

  • 10. Washington Dulles International (IAD)

    Score: 6.58

  • 9. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI)

    Score: 6.63

  • 8. Harry Reid International, Nevada (LAS)

    Score: 6.89

  • 7. Indianapolis International (IND)

    Score: 7.1

  • 6. Sacramento International (SMF)

    Score: 7.3

  • 5. Dallas Love Field (DAL)

    Score: 7.35

  • 4. Tampa International (TPA)

    Score: 7.76

  • 3. Portland International, Oregon (PDX)

    Score: 7.86

  • 2. John Wayne, Orange County, California (SNA)

    Score: 7.96

  • 1. Southwest Florida International (RSW)

    Score: 8.06

Joe Winner spends his days combing through memes and off beat stories to bring you the side of Florida not always seen.

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