2 Florida Airports Named America’s Favorite Domestic Airports
Step into the whirlwind of U.S. airports, where the excitement never stops. From coast to coast, these hubs are like mini-cities buzzing with life. Whether you’re navigating the terminals of big shots like New York and LA or soaking up the local vibes in smaller cities, every airport has its unique style.
Travel + Leisure revealed the best travel destinations and organizations globally in their 2023 World’s Best Awards reader survey. This 28th edition of the awards highlights the top players in the travel industry, including the best domestic airports. This year, Travel + Leisure readers voted for their favorite domestic airports. They primarily focused on convenience, like short security lines, abundant parking, and easy-to-navigate terminals.
Each year, as part of the World’s Best Awards survey, the travel site’s readers participate by sharing their travel experiences. They voice their opinions on the finest hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Over 685,000 votes were cast, covering more than 8,500 distinct properties, including hotels, cities, and cruise lines, among others. These airports were evaluated on various criteria, such as access, check-in/ security, restaurants/ bars, shopping, and design.
Most airports on the list are regional ones. They tend to provide a less crowded and more relaxed experience compared to their larger counterparts. While regional airports serve as convenient alternatives. Especially when the major international airports become too congested to manage the passenger flow efficiently. However, it’s worth noting that some major international airports are also included in the list. The site says that it ensures a diverse range of options to cater to various travel preferences.
Florida takes two spots for America’s favorite domestic airports.
This year’s top 10 list includes two Florida airports. Ranking at number 3, is Tampa International Airport, which was highlighted for its exceptional services and amenities. Not far behind, at number 8, is Palm Beach International Airport, winning the hearts of the travel site’s readers.
If you’re curious to see who else made the cut, check out the full list here.
New Study Shows Punta Gorda Airport As The Worst Airport in Florida
Ouch. That one stings a little. A brand-new index study reveals Punta Gorda Airport is the worst Florida-based airport.
The experts at FloridaRentals.com have revealed the best and worst airports across Florida. They indexed all 19 Florida-based airports, ranking each destination against 14 factors to receive a score out of 100. Here’s how they got the score.
Rankings are based on several factors such as: number of scheduled outbound direct flight destinations, average minutes delay per flight, average minutes delay due to weather, average minutes delay due to security, average minutes delay due to aircraft arriving late, average cost of hotels within 5 miles (for 1 night), and percentage of all operations cancelled.
I think this study may show more about Allegiant Air than Punta Gorda. Allegiant makes up the bulk of commercial flights in PG. Skytrax, an online airline review site gives Allegiant a score of 3 out of 10. But, Allegiant is known as an ultra-low cost carrier, so the old adage of “you get what you pay for” comes to mind.
The Punta Gorda Airport has been making some definite improvements. There’s now a 40-seat bar with runway views between Gates 2 and 3. There’s also a food and beverage counter near gate 1. They also have food trucks in the short term parking lot. Sure, there’s always the chance your flight gets delayed, but food trucks and drinking always makes the extra time go by easier. Our guy Pete is flying out of Punta Gorda next month, so we may revisit this.
Also, many of these airports are discussing or are in the middle of big improvements. So they know how busy they are, and they are expanding. A LOT of people are coming to Florida, so airport expansions are happening.
Southwest Florida International in Fort Myers fared much better in the study, ranking in the middle of the pack of Florida airports. So let’s see how they stack up.
Kayla is the midday host on Detroit’s 105.1 The Bounce. She started her career in radio back in 2016 as an intern at another Detroit station and worked her way here. She's made stops in Knoxville, TN, Omaha, Ne and other places before returning to Detroit. She’s done almost everything in radio from promotions to web, creating content on social media, you name it.
She’s a true Michigander, born and raised. So, you can catch her camping or vacationing up north to exploring the downtown Detroit or maybe even catching a sports game. During her free time, Kayla enjoys watching movies, roller-skating, crafting, and music festivals. She and her husband together dip into many of the great things Michigan has to offer. Together they also like to travel.
A few hobbies of hers include wine and beer tastings, crafting, hiking, roller skating, movies, home improvement projects, gardening, and festivals. She’s always looking to take on more local events happening in the community.
She loves connecting with the community. When writing, Kayla covers topics including lifestyle, pop culture, trending stories, hacks, and urban culture.